Preferred habitat:
Common buckthorn occurs in
a variety of habitats, including woodland borders and wet areas. It has a preference for
neutral or alkaline soils, and can be found in limestone wetlands.
Seasonal cycle: Buckthorn has a long growing season, with
leaf-out in late April to mid-May, prior to most woody deciduous species. Each shrub
typically bears either male or female flowers May through June. The female plants produce
rounded black fruits, each with three or four grooved seeds, that ripen in August through
September. Buckthorns retain their leaves late into the fall, and stems persist through
the winter, as does much of the fruit. Seeds are spread by birds and mice, which eat the
fruit.
Distribution: In North America, common
buckthorn has naturalized from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, south to Missouri and east to
Virginia
Other points of interest: Native to Europe and Asia, common
buckthorn was probably introduced to North America before 1800 and became widespread and
naturalized in the early 1900s. It was cultivated for hedges, forestry uses, and wildlife
habitat.
Control : Control methods include cutting/mowing, girdling,
excavation and chemical control. Seedlings and small plants may be pulled by hand or
removed with a grubbing hoc. Excavation is most usefull in areas with low density
invasions. Repeated cutting, which reduces plant strength, is recommended twice each
season for two or three successive years. Girdling may be done all winter, does not
disrupt the soil and does not affect sensitive wetlands. Combining cutting with herbicide
use may also be effective; it is recommended the stems be cut in the spring at leaf
expansion and again in August or September, at which time a 20% solution of glyphosate can
be applied to the stump. (Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide and great care must be
taken when using it in order to not harm native plant species.)
Additional information sources: Common Buckthorn and
Glossy Buckrhorn Element Stewardship Abstract. C.K.Converse. Unpublished report of The
Nature Conservancy, 1984.
Experiment Finds Less Herbicide Needed to Control Buckrhorn
IWisconsin) S. Glass. Restoration & Management Notes, 12:1, Summer 1994.
The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the
Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Fifth printing. H. Gleason. Haffner Press,
New York, 1974.
Diagnostic information: Leaves: ovate-elliptic or subovate, glabrous and minutely serrate, 1" to 2-1/2" in length. Flowers: 2-6
fragrant, yellowish-greenish, 4 petals, perfect, in axillary or supra-axillary unlbels.
Fruit: black, berry with 3-4 separate seed-like nutlets of cartilaginous texture, the
plump seeds with a deep and dorsal groove. Stem and branches: spine-tipped long shoots and
branches, gray-black bark, twigs have prominent lenticels.
This fact sheet has been prepared by The
Nature Conservancy Connecticut Chapter.
