buckthorn bumelia Sapotaceae Sideroxylon lycioides

Leaf:Alternate, simple, evergreen to deciduous farther north, obovate, ovate, or nearly lanceolate, entire, wedge-shaped at both tips, with a milky sap when broken, to 6 inches, shiny dark green above, paler and may be somewhat pubescent below.
Flower:Species is monoecious; white, and round-clustered, tiny individual flowers with 5 petals, early to midsummer.
Fruit:Egg-shaped and shiny, red ripening to nearly black fleshy fruits, 1/2 inch long, ripening in the fall.
Twig:Slender, spur shoots present, buds dome-shaped to conical and yellow-green, leaf scars circular, with a milky sap when broken. Twigs often armed with stout, unbranched 1 inch thorns at each leaf scar.
Bark:Initially smooth, becoming broken and then scaly, older trees scaly and shedding to reveal red inner bark.
Form:Shrub or small tree to 30 feet.

leaf twig bark form map

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