Rhamnus alaternus L., Rhamnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: evergreen buckthorn, Italian buckthorn

French: alaterne

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Thornless shrub, 1-5 m. Leaves evergreen, glabrous except for bearding in the axils of the veins beneath, ovate to elliptic, 3-7 x 2-3 cm, acute, margin horny-serrate. Flowers in condensed panicles. Fruit black when ripe" (Davis, 1967; p. 531).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, a "weed of coastal areas and especially exposed cliff faces on our offshore islands. It forms dense stands where nothing will grow underneath" (Mike Harre, message to Aliens listserver).

Propagation:  Seed, often spread by fruit-eating birds and other animals.

Native range:  Mediterranean area, Crimea (Davis, 1967; p. 531).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 356)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced	Owen, S. J. (1997)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1047) "Mainly in scrub, around forest margins and plantations, becoming a serious weed in some northern localities".

Comments:  Reported as an invasive plant in New Zealand (Owen, 1996).

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young plants.

Chemical:  Cut large plants and treat the stumps with herbicide.

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "An Illustrated Guide to Common Weeds of New Zealand"

Fact sheet from the Auckland Regional Council.
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.

Additional online information about Rhamnus alaternus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Rhamnus alaternus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Rhamnus alaternus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Davis, P. H./Mill, R. R./Tan, Kit, eds. 1965. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. Edinburgh, University Press. 1965-1988, 10 vols.

Owen, S. J. 1997. Ecological weeds on conservation land in New Zealand: A database. Working draft. Wellington, New Zealand. Department of Conservation.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.