Family |
Rhamnaceae
Rhamnus cathartica
L.
Rhamnus cathartica L.
(Species Plantarum: 193, 1753)
• Life-form & habit: Deciduous shrub or small tree, usually 2–6(–8) m tall; crown irregular, branches stiff, often ending in sharp spines. Bark grey-brown, becoming fissured with age.
• Leaves: Opposite or subopposite (rarely alternate), broadly ovate to elliptic, 2.5–6 cm long, margins finely serrate, apex acute; veins 3–4 pairs, strongly curved; petioles short.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Small, greenish-yellow, 4-merous, in axillary clusters of 2–6; dioecious or polygamodioecious. Calyx campanulate with 4 lobes; petals absent or minute; stamens inserted opposite calyx lobes.
• Fruit: Drupe globose, 6–10 mm, black at maturity, containing 2–4 seeds; toxic, strongly purgative.
• Phenology: Flowers May–June; fruits ripen August–September.
• Habitat & elevation: Prefers dry open woods, hedgerows, and scrub on calcareous soils; sea level to c. 1,500 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Not reported by Mouterde; the species is native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa but absent or very rare in Lebanon.
• Native range: Widespread in Europe, North Africa, Caucasus, and western Asia, extending east to Iran and the Himalayas.