Frangula rubra

Frangula rubra (syn. Rhamnus rubra) is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by the common names red buckthorn and Sierra coffeeberry.

Frangula rubra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Genus:	Frangula
Species:	F. rubra
Binomial name
Frangula rubra (Greene) Grubov
Synonyms
Rhamnus rubra Greene

Description

Frangula rubra is a spreading shrub approaching 2 metres (6+1⁄2 ft) in maximum height, its bark red or gray.^[1] The thin, deciduous leaves are generally oval in shape, green to grayish in color, and up to 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) long.^[1] The edges are smooth or faintly toothed. The inflorescence is an umbel of up to 15 flowers with five pointed sepals opening into a starlike shape and five smaller, greenish petals.^[1] The fruit is a drupe which ripens to black. It measures just over 1 cm long and contains 2 seeds.

• 
  Foliage
• 
  Berry and seeds

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the mountains and plateau areas of northern and eastern California and western Nevada,^{[citation needed]} including the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains, where it grows in many habitat types, including forests, chaparral, and sagebrush.^[1]

Adverse effects

The berry is inedible and may have a laxative effect.^[1]