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Frangula californica
Also called California Coffeeberry, Coffeeberry
California buckthorn (Frangula californica), also called California coffeeberry, is a drought-tolerant evergreen shrub or small tree native to western North America. It is grown for its tolerance of dry, steep sites, its value to pollinators and wildlife, and its deer resistance.
Frangula californica (previously classified as Rhamnus californica) is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.
This plant is cultivated as an ornamental plant by plant nurseries, for planting in native plant, water conserving, and wildlife gardens; in large pots and containers; and in natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects.
It is also used for erosion control, and is usually deer resistant. Erosion control usually occurs with this plant on dry steep hillsides where the roots keep in place and protect the surrounding land from weather erosion. Due to this plant being unpalatable to deer, it is commonly used for ornamental purposes, including landscape decor. This plant is also drought-tolerant and not difficult to maintain, due to it being easy to prune and shape. As a pollinator plant it is of special value to native butterflies and bees. Regeneration normally occurs quickly after fire and show constant vegetative regeneration, except when in extreme or abnormal conditions.
The plant is native to California, the Southwestern United States, and Baja California state in Mexico. It is an introduced species in Hawaii. The highest populations of this plant are mainly found in Arizona and California, but can also be found in New Mexico, Oregon, and Nevada as well.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Frangula californica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
