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Rhamnus utilis — Chinese buckthorn

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Facts

Chinese buckthorn is a spiny shrub or small tree, typically growing to 4 m (12 feet) tall. It is native to China, Japan, and Korea. Leaves are borne on short stalks (petioles) and have tiny golden hairs on the underside. The bark is used in Asia to make a yellow dye, and oils extracted from the seeds are used as lubricants.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
Connecticut
Growth form
the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
  • there are four leaves per node along the stem
  • there are three leaves per node along the stem
  • there are two leaves per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
40–150 mm
Leaf blade width
20–65 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is fleshy
Twig winter color
  • brown
  • purple
  • red
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    yellow or green
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    NA
    Hypanthium present
    the flower has a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    • the flowers grow out of the axil (point where a branch or leaf is attached to the main stem)
    • the inflorescence is a fascicle (compact cluster of flowers)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Stamen number
    4
    Stamen position relative to petals
    the stamens are lined up with the petals (antepetalous)

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    black
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    • the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    • the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
    • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
    • the base of the leaf blade is rounded
    Leaf blade edges
    the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
    Leaf blade length
    40–150 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
    • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade vein pattern
    the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and arcuate (slightly arched in the direction of the tip)
    Leaf blade width
    20–65 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf stalk nectaries
    there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
    Leaf teeth
    • the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    • the leaf blade margin is serrulate (with forward-pointing) or denticulate (with outward-pointing) with tiny teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    • there are four leaves per node along the stem
    • there are three leaves per node along the stem
    • there are two leaves per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
    Stipules
    the plant has stipules

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    Connecticut
    Specific habitat
    • edges of forests
    • forests
    • man-made or disturbed habitats

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    • brown
    • purple
    • red
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
absent
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

None

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

4.  Rhamnus utilis Dcne. E

Chinese buckthorn. CT. Forest edges, waste areas. Rhamnus utilis has drupes with 2 pyrenes (similar to R. davurica).

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes confused with

Rhamnus cathartica:
petioles 10–40 mm long, mostly 0.25–0.50 times as long as the blade, leaf blades with mostly 3–5 pairs of primary lateral veins, leaf blades glabrous abaxially or with +/- white hairs on the veins and/or in the vein axils, remaining green to pale green abaxially when dry (vs. R. utilis, with petioles 5–15 mm long, mostly 0.10–0.16 times as long as the blade, leaf blades with mostly 5 or 6 pairs of primary lateral veins, abaxially pubescent with gold-yellow hairs on the veins and/or in the vein axils, turning yellow or gold-yellow abaxially when dry).
Rhamnus davurica:
petioles 10–40 mm long, mostly 0.25–0.50 times as long as the blade, leaf blades with mostly 3–5 pairs of primary lateral veins, leaf blades glabrous abaxially or with +/- white hairs on the veins and/or in the vein axils, remaining green to pale green abaxially when dry (vs. R. utilis, with petioles 5–15 mm long, mostly 0.10–0.16 times as long as the blade, leaf blades with mostly 5 or 6 pairs of primary lateral veins, abaxially pubescent with gold-yellow hairs on the veins and/or in the vein axils, turning yellow or gold-yellow abaxially when dry).

Family

Rhamnaceae

Genus

Rhamnus