Frangula | |
---|---|
Frangula alnus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rhamnaceae |
Genus: |
Frangula Mill. |
Species | |
See text. |
See text.
Frangula is a genus of about 35 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae.
Frangula is a genus of deciduous shrubs with alternate, simple leaves with stipules, buds without bud scales, branches without spines and flowers with five petals and undivided styles. The fruits are 2 to 4-seeded berries.
Selected species include:
The European species, alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) was of major military importance in the 15th to 19th centuries, as its wood provided the best quality charcoal for gunpowder manufacture.