Common Name:
Italian buckthorn
Plant Type:
Evergreen shrub
Family:
Rhamnaceae (The Buckthorn Family)
Geographic Origin:
Mediterranean Region
California Native?:
No

Plant Size:
To 30 feet
Landscape/Garden Uses:
screens
Flowering Season:
Summer

Flower Color:
Yellow
Exposure:
Sun or light shade
Soils:
Most soils

Suggested Irrigation:
Moderate to little watering
Estimated Hardiness:
Hardy to 10 degrees F. or less

This is a vigorous evergreen shrub, easily trained as a small tree, growing 10-20 feet tall. The main branches are erect to upsweeping, lined by virtual brushes of branchlets. The leaves are up to 2 inches long, pointed-oval in outline, and colored dark green above, pale green beneath, with a lacquered surface. Flowers are tiny and greenish, and many of the small blackish purple berries are hidden by the leaves. This is a nearly indestructible shrub, used in tall screens and hedges or trained as a small tree.