Rhamnus alaternus
Common names: Italian buckthorn
Rhamnus alaternus (Italian buckthorn) is a shrub (family Rhamnaceae) with tiny green to white flowers and oval-shaped leaves found in the San Francisco Bay area and central and south coast ranges of California. It is native to the Mediterranean. It favors scrub and chaparral, forests, and riparian and bottomland habitat. It spreads via seed and resprouts vigorously from the base after damage. Seeds are spread by fruit-eating birds and mammals, ants and in dumped garden waste.
Cal-IPC Rating: Watch
Cal-IPC Assessment
Plant Risk Assessment
Species ID Card
Invasive Species ID Card - To support field identification of early detection species, Cal-IPC has designed a set of Species ID cards that can be downloaded, printed double-sided, and trimmed to size.
Weed Management Notes
No Weed RIC Management Notes are available for this species. Check for information on other species in the genus on the Weed RIC site.Cal-IPC Newsletter Articles
There are no newsletter articles associated with this species yet.
Cal-IPC Symposium Presentations
Presentations are linked where available. Where a presentation is not available, find more information by reading the abstract in the Cal-IPC Symposia Archive.
- New and expanding weeds in California. Kelch, Dean (2011)
Other Rhamnus alaternus Information
- CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.
- Calflora - See the distribution of this species on Calflora's map of California.
- Jepson Online Interchange for California Flora - Information on taxonomy, biology, and distribution from UC Berkeley's Jepson Herbarium.
- USDA PLANTS Database - Federal database with information on identification and distribution, and links to websites in individual states.