5yr Native Tree Challenge - Soup Dragon's rhamnus alaternus (Mediterranean buckthorn) - no. 2

[Soup Dragon]

I went to the nursery to buy pumice, and bumped into an ugly tree while I was there. Ugly and interesting. Should be fun.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Super interesting!

Many considerations.

...I can’t wait

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

????
What species is it????

 

[Soup Dragon]

????
What species is it????

It's a rhamnus alaternus, or Mediterranean buckthorn.

 

[HorseloverFat]

The Berries/foliage/leaves appear closely related to ONE of the two verrry “dominant” buckthorn species here, Rhamnus Cathartica.

 

[Forsoothe!]

It looks like one individual buried too deep!

 

[HorseloverFat]

It looks like one individual buried too deep!

Like a metaphor for generalized anxiety disorder.

 

[Soup Dragon]

The Berries/foliage/leaves appear closely related to ONE of the two verrry “dominant” buckthorn species here, Rhamnus Cathartica.

Do they make credible bonsai?

 

[Soup Dragon]

It looks like one individual buried too deep!

I think so too. I'm looking forward to discovering what is under there.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I've never heard of this Buckthorn (lots of unrelated Buckthorns) but looking at those curving branches tells me they are softer at early stages, AKA not brittle, and therefore wire-able. That's always good. The most important other characteristic is back-budding.

 

[Soup Dragon]

I've never heard of this Buckthorn (lots of unrelated Buckthorns) but looking at those curving branches tells me they are softer at early stages, AKA not brittle, and therefore wire-able. That's always good. The most important other characteristic is back-budding.

You're right - the branches are flexible, not brittle at all. My fingers are crossed for back-budding. This is very much an experiment.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Duh,
I should have read the thread title. I simply neglected to "look up".

I'm not familiar with that particular species of Rhamnus. We have a very thuggish, ill-behaved, highly invasive species of Rhamnus here, that I can not bear to look at. I have poured many gallons of herbicide on buckthorn in helping with prairied restoration. Got nothing for you on its use as bonsai, though it looks like your species. R. alaternus could be good.

 

[HorseloverFat]

. We have a very thuggish, ill-behaved, highly invasive species of Rhamnus

What an perfect way to say this!
Like the guy who pisses in your hot-tub.. with no shame!

 

[Soup Dragon]

Duh,
I should have read the thread title. I simply neglected to "look up".

I'm not familiar with that particular species of Rhamnus. We have a very thuggish, ill-behaved, highly invasive species of Rhamnus here, that I can not bear to look at. I have poured many gallons of herbicide on buckthorn in helping with prairied restoration. Got nothing for you on its use as bonsai, though it looks like your species. R. alaternus could be good.

This one could be just as thuggish - I have no idea. It will be interesting to find out.

This challenge has already met one of its stated goals of having us take an interest in native species. I would have paid attention to this one otherwise.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

In Scotland, where Rhamnus cathartica is native, it is a very well behaved member of its plant community. It turns out that when it was introduced to USA, it found a different array of fungi to pair with as mycorrhiza. The combination of the Scottish Rhamnus paired with a mid-western USA mycorrhiza species turned the damn thing into a "super weed". Here, R. cathartica is a wild, rampant, thuggish weed because it is pairing up with a North American species of mycorrhiza that does not occur in Europe or UK. It makes it a monster. A plant version of "PCP or Crack". In its native range, it is just fine.

Weird but true.