Frangula alnus Mill.

Frangula alnus, commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northernmost Africa, and western Asia, from Ireland and Great Britain north to the 68th parallel in Scandinavia, east to central Siberia and Xinjiang in western China, and south to northern Morocco, Turkey, and the Alborz in Iran and the Caucasus Mountains; in the northwest of its range, it is rare and scattered. It is also introduced and naturalised in eastern North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Synonyms 48

Frangula baetica, Frangula dodonei, Frangula europaea, Frangula frangula, Frangula nigra, Frangula pentapetala, Frangula pontica, Frangula sanguinea, Frangula vulgaris, Frangularia nigra, Girtanneria frangula, Rhamnus alnoides, Rhamnus alnus, Rhamnus asplenifolia, Rhamnus autumnalis, Rhamnus baetica, Rhamnus frangula, Rhamnus nemoralis, Rhamnus pentapetala, Rhamnus pontica, Rhamnus sanguinea, Rhamnus sanguino, Rhamnus sibirica, Rhamnus undulata, Frangula alnus subsp. elliptica, Frangula alnus subsp. saxatilis, Frangula alnus subsp. sphagnicola, Frangula dodonei subsp. baetica, Frangula dodonei subsp. pontica, Rhamnus frangula subsp. baetica, Frangula alnus var. angustifolia, Frangula alnus var. asplenifolia, Frangula alnus var. elliptica, Frangula alnus var. latifolia, Frangula alnus var. prostrata, Frangula vulgaris var. parvifolia, Frangula vulgaris var. subrotunda, Rhamnus frangula var. angustifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. aspleniifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. autumnalis, Rhamnus frangula var. elliptica, Rhamnus frangula var. grandifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. heterophylla, Rhamnus frangula var. laevifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. latifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. longifolia, Rhamnus frangula var. orientalis, Rhamnus frangula var. paucinervosa

624,993 GBIF occurrences
69,082 iNaturalist observations

Conservation status code

Conservation: status label

Least Concern

Conservation: population trend

Increasing

Conservation: year assessed

2026

IUCN Red List page

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164056/209132762

Habitats

Threats

IUCN: population narrative

Populations are scattered, but present in many countries. The species has seen recent population increases in more remote areas of Europe resulting from land abandonment.

IUCN: habitat narrative

The species is a perennial tall shrub or small tree. It is present in wet shrubland, forests, hedges and woods, riverine forests, peatbogs, and acidic Alder carrs (wet woodlands). Flowering in Italy is from May to June, in France and Corsica from April to July (August) (Castroviejo et al. 2014, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland 2023).

IUCN: threats narrative

In Northern Ireland, the plant is considered a priority species threatened by habitat destruction due to wetland drainage for agriculture and habitat loss from peat-cutting (National Museums Northern Ireland 2006-2010).

IUCN: conservation narrative

The species is represented by 50 germplasm accessions held at European institutions (EURISCO 2024) and is included in the living collection of at least 102 botanical gardens (BGCI 2024). It occurs in many protected areas, including Natura 2000 sites (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2024, GBIF.org 2024).

IUCN: rationale

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)This species occurs in many European countries and does not appear to be in decline from any threatening processes at present, except in Northern Ireland. It is assessed as Least Concern for both Europe and the EU27 Member States.

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