Dahurian buckthorn (Rhamnus davurica)

Description:

Habit: Shrub that can reach a height of 30 ft.

Leaves: Opposite to subopposite, stalked, shiny dark green above, grayish green and lightly hair below. 4-10 cm. long, narrow oblong or elliptic to inversely egg-shaped with a wedge-shaped base and pointed tip, finely round-toothed, 2-4 pairs of veins.

Stems: stout, smooth, with a sharp spine between terminal buds.

Flowers: Borne in dense clusters, yellowish green in color, 4 petals and 4 stamens.

Fruit and seeds: Fleshy with 2 seeds in a drupe, black, spherical, each large seed as a narrow furrow.

Habitat: Native to Asia. Found in thickets and disturbed sites.

Reproduction: By seed and vegetatively.

Similar species: Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Japanese buckthorn (Rhamnus japonica), and Chinese buckthorn (Rhamnus utilis)

Monitoring and rapid response: Prescribed burning can be used to kill seeds and seedlings in the spring. Hand pulling and weed wrenching can also be used to remove seedlings and mature plants up to 7 cm across. Cutting will result in vigorous re-sprouts. Glyphosate can be applied immediately after cutting or via stem injections.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from The Morton Arboretum VPlants.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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