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Cascara buckthorn Rhamnaceae Frangula purshiana (DC.) A. Gray Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: FRPU7
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, oblong to elliptical, 2 to 6 inches long, dark glossy green above and paler below, prominently penniveined, margins wavy or finely serrate.
Flower: Species is monoecious; with either perfect flowers or imperfect flowers on the same plant, inconspicuous, small and greenish-white in loose clusters.
Fruit: A small (1/4 to 1/2 inch diameter), round, black drupe with a yellowish inner pulp, not edible (has laxative properties).
Twig: Young twigs are slender and moderately stout, reddish brown and pubescent; older branches are smooth and reddish brown to gray; buds are naked (without scales) and covered with rusty tomentum.
Bark: Thin and grayish brown, often mottled with white patches of lichens; inner bark is yellow, tastes bitter, and has laxative properties.
Form: Can grow as a tree to 50 feet tall and 10 to 20 inches in diameter or as an erect shrub with multiple stems to 15 feet.
 Looks like: California buckthorn - common buckthorn - red alder

Cascara buckthorn leaf image
Cascara buckthorn flower image
Cascara buckthorn fruit image
Cascara buckthorn twig image
Cascara buckthorn bark image
Cascara buckthorn form image
Cascara buckthorn map image

Additional Range Information: Frangula purshiana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information