Follow Us!
† Requires Javascript
Copyright © 1997-2009 Demand Media. All rights reserved.
|
| Member | Message |
|---|---|
 |
Posted: Jul/23/2009 2:17 PM PST
Greetings everyone! This is my first post here and I found this website looking for help identifying one of the bushes on my new property. The bush/tree is about 10 feet high and has berries. This specimen did not have blossoms in the spring and the leaves have serrated edges. At first I thought it was a dogwood but some things don't seem to match up with that species. Please help me identify so I can take proper care of it. Thanks so much! Erik Attachments:   |
 |
Posted: Jul/23/2009 2:38 PM PST
Do you have a photo of the berries, Erik? Does this grow like a bush or does it seem more like a small tree? |
|
|
Posted: Jul/23/2009 2:49 PM PST
It's more like a small tree - here are some more photos of the berries. Erik Attachments:    |
 |
Posted: Jul/23/2009 4:14 PM PST
Perhaps Buckthorn. Sorry you missed the flowers, but it definitely had them at some point or it would not have berries. Buckthorn flowers can be rather small and insignificant. Look up pictures of Frangula alnus - glossy buckthorn. http://www.paflora.org/Rhamnus%20frangula.pdf |
|
|
Posted: Jul/23/2009 5:07 PM PST
I'm not sure it's Buckthorn....I've been outside everyday and it never had blossoms. The leaves are also toothed on the edges not smooth like the Buckthorn photos. It's also not invasive...it's one solitary tree/shrub all by it's lonesome. The bark almost looks like some sort of silver birch trees. The trunk is also scraggely (sp)...it isn't straight for more than 4-5 inches before it twists,turns or bends. I added a photo of some leaves. Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Jul/23/2009 6:32 PM PST
Are you sure that last photo is from the same tree? Notice that the leaves on it are alternate along the stem. Compare it to the leaf arrangement in your first picture. And yes, the leaves have noticeable teeth on the edges. In your earlier pictures, the leaves are almost opposite one another on the stem and the teeth on the leaves are much less prominent. As for this being solitary tree - invasiveness is not always so noticeable. One seed dropped by a bird starts it. Perhaps it is not buckthorn (glossy or otherwise). But do make sure that you are getting pictures of the same tree. As for no flowers - again, you cannot have fruit without flowers. It just doesn't happen. |
|
|
Posted: Jul/24/2009 6:39 AM PST
Yep it's the same tree. It's one of the reasons I've had problems identifying it. Sometimes the leaves are directly opposite each other and at other times they are staggered. All the leaves have the toothed pattern however. There are no other trees like this anywhere near by and it's right next to the side porch of my Victorian house so I'm thinking someone intended to plant it there. Erik |
|
|
Posted: Jul/24/2009 9:17 AM PST
I found other sources that say some buckthorns (this was describing the common one) have minute teeth. And another source says that buckthorns have "alternate, almost opposite leaves". Confusing to be sure. Here is another identification site you could try: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/namegal/ |
|
|
Posted: Jul/24/2009 10:41 AM PST
GA girl was on the right track!  Thanks for all the additional pix, Erik! It helps a lot! I was thinking it looked slightly like a crab apple (Malus) or Prunus-fruit wrong for that...but knew it was not. Do some of the stem tips have spines? I believe I see them in the pix. (Glossy Buckthorn does not have a spine, Rhamnus frangula) Rhamnus cathartica, Common Buckthorn, seems to be a match. You can wait to see if the fruits turn black. The leaf veining matches. Check the details at these sites & see what you think.  http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/node/199 This site says it is often confused with crab apple: http://hflp.sdstate.edu/Pestalrt/alert908.htm Detail of the pic: http://hflp.sdstate.edu/IMAGES/buckthorn.jpg http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/rhca1.htm Pix of the flowers & why you may not have noticed them: http://bellquel.bo.cnr.it/scuole/serpieri/erbario/ immagini%20erbacee%20spontanee/Ramnacee/Rhamnus%20 cathartica.jpg http://bellquel.bo.cnr.it/scuole/serpieri/erbario/ immagini%20erbacee%20spontanee/Ramnacee/Rhamnus%20 cathartica%202.jpg This site shows both Buckthorn plants discussed compared (showing the green fruit & the bark-you can test yours): http://www.imapinvasives.org/GIST/ESA/esapages/Fra nalnu.html ~remove any spaces from url~ |
 |
Posted: Jul/24/2009 11:00 AM PST
Rhamnus catharticus?? Attachments:  |
† Requires Javascript
Copyright © 1997-2009 Demand Media. All rights reserved.
