# Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

> A thorny, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with glossy oval leaves that stay green late into fall, dark peeling bark with orange inner wood, thorn-tipped twigs and clusters of black berries on female plants that birds eat and scatter (the fruit is a purgative, hence the name). Planted as hedging in the 1800s, it now forms impenetrable thickets in woods and fencerows from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia and across the Upper Midwest and Northeast, shading out everything beneath and hosting soybean aphid and oat crown rust. It is banned or restricted in most states where it grows.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/rhamnus-cathartica · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: European buckthorn, Purging buckthorn
- Family: Rhamnaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, loses its leaves in winter
- Mature height: 7 m; spread 5 m
- Growth: Fast growing
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 7
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Clay, loam or sand, neutral to alkaline, moist or dry; tolerates shade and drought
- Native range: Native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the British Isles to Morocco and Kyrgyzstan.

**Benefits:** Birds

**Good for:** Hedgerow

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Thorns, Toxic parts, Messy fruit

## Care

Not for planting. Removal: pull seedlings when the soil is moist; cut larger stems and treat stumps immediately with triclopyr or glyphosate, ideally in fall or early winter when natives are dormant. Expect to return for several years because seeds stay viable in the soil.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Germany (Native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia.)
- **Invasive:** MA, United States (Rated Invasive by the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group and banned from sale under the state Prohibited Plant List.); PA, United States (On Pennsylvania DCNR's invasive plant fact sheet list.)
- **Prohibited:** ON, Canada (Listed as a Noxious Weed under Ontario's Weed Control Act and as invasive by the Ontario Invasive Plant Council.); CT, United States (Invasive on the Connecticut Invasive Plant List; sale and movement prohibited by statute.); IN, United States (Regulated under Indiana's Terrestrial Plant Rule: illegal to sell, distribute or transport.); MN, United States (Restricted Noxious Weed in Minnesota: cannot be imported, sold or transported.); NH, United States (On New Hampshire's prohibited invasive species list (Agr 3800).); NY, United States (Prohibited invasive species under 6 NYCRR Part 575.); WI, United States (Restricted under Wisconsin NR 40.)

## Sources

- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rhamnus-cathartica/
- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/RHCA3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_cathartica
- https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/minnesota-noxious-weed-list
- https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/RegulatedSpecies
- https://cipwg.uconn.edu/invasive_plant_list/
- https://gc.nh.gov/rules/state_agencies/agr3800.html
- https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/isprohibitedplants2.pdf
- https://www.in.gov/dnr/rules-and-regulations/invasive-species/terrestrial-invasive-species-plants
- https://www.massnrc.org/mipag/invasive.htm
- https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/dcnr/conservation/wild-plants/invasive-plants/invasive-plant-fact-sheets.html
- https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/invasive-plants/species/buckthorn/