cascara buckthorn (Rhamnus purshiana)

• Size: May grow as a small tree (to 50' tall and 2' in diameter), or an erect shrub (multiple trunks to 15' tall).

• Leaves: Simple, alternate, deciduous; oblong to elliptical; 2"-6" long; smooth, wavy or finely serrated edges; prominent, straight veins.

• Fruit: Black, cherry-like fruit, 1/4"-1/2" in diameter.

• Twigs: Naked winter buds (tiny, brown, hairy leaves folded around even tinier leaves).

• Bark: Thin and grayish with chalky white patches, resembling the bark of young alder.

• Distribution: Occurs primarily in moist shaded locations along the western coast from central California up into Canada; also in the northwestern corner of the Great Basin.

For more information about this species, see "Trees to Know in Oregon".