Buckthorns are species of shrubs from the plant family of rhamnaceae.
Buckthorn are found in plenty throughout sub-tropical North hemisphere and some parts of South America and Africa in the South hemisphere. They may be evergreen or deciduous variety. The shrubs are endowed with simple and long leaves that have veination curves towards the tip of the leaves. The fruits of
buckthorn plant are blue colored berries. The plant got its unique name due to its woody spine-like shape.
Buckthorns leaves are eaten by many insects and birds. There are many kinds of
buckthorn species. Some of them are as follows:
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Purging Buckthorn-They are also known as common
buckthorn. It is a native species of European land. It was used as an effective purgative by ancient Europeans. This garden herb was later introduced in US. They are used by soybean farmers in US to act as a host for winter season.
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Alder Buckthorn-It was very popular during 15th and 18th centuries for its wood quality. Alder
buckthorn provided the most top rated wood quality for gunpowder production and charcoal.
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Italian Buckthorn-This evergreen variety from the Mediterranean lands is considered as a weed.
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More Kinds-There are also Dyer’s Buckthorn, Avignon Buckthorn, Chinese Buckthorn California Buckthorn, Hollyleaf Buckthorn and
Sanguinho Buckthorn species.
Buckthorns are often confused with Dogwoods plants due to the similarity in the leaf structures. But, if you pull a leaf apart from both the plants, you may be able to distinguish them.
