Rhamnus alaternus
Holly buckthorn ( Rhamnus alaternus ), flowering
The Holly buckthorn ( Rhamnus alaternus ), also called Evergreen buckthorn is a plant of the family buckthorn family ( Rhamnaceae ). It is common in the Mediterranean area.
Description
The Holly - buckthorn is an up to 5 meters high, almost bald, very diverse in its habit, dioecious shrub, with spines missing. The leaves are arranged opposite one another. The petioles are 1-8 mm, the leathery leaves 2-6 (rarely from 1) cm long, lanceolate to ovate, tapering to blunt ending and stumpfspitzig ( mucronat ). The upper leaf surface is dark green and displays a distinct venation, the underside is pale green. The leaf margin is simple or toothed.
Bloom time is the winter or early spring. The densely packed racemose inflorescence is more or less fine fluffy hairy, ciliate bracts mostly deciduous. The flowers are about 4 millimeters fünfzählig, the yellow calyx lobes are lanceolate and pointed, petals absent. The fruits are 4-6 mm wide, obovate, not fleshy berries that are red at first, but later turn black and have three seeds.
Dissemination
The species is widespread in the Mediterranean region and north to the Ticino and Adige ago. She finds, for example, to Macchien in or on abandoned fields.