Scientific name: Frangula alnus Mill.
Common name: Alder Buckthorn
Description
Habit: A shrub, to 5 m high, upright with a spreading open crown.
Leaves: Alternate, 2-7 cm long, undivided, untoothed, broadly oval, with 6 or more pairs of major lateral veins.
Flowers: Greenish, actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, in axillary clusters; sepals, petals and stamens 5, free; ovary superior.
Fruits: A berry with 2-3 seeds, first red, turning black, 6-10 mm.
Twigs: Slender, reddish or greenish brown, young twigs grey hairy.
Bark: Grey-brown, with few slightly raised lenticels; sometimes shallowly fissured on older stems.
Habitat: Rocky ground, limestone pavement, close to lakes and turloughs.Distribution: Very local.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: Yes