Tree ID, pacific northwest - Cascara

Took these pics today. Mixed in with cottonwood and alder in clearcut regrowth, Comox Valley BC.

Will be flowering soon looks like.

Seen it before but never tracked down a name... anyone?

That is a cascara tree. Great small tree up to about 30 feet tall at most. Grows in open conditions or as a sub-canopy tree. Used to be much more common but was over harvested to make laxatives. Every part of the tree can be used as a very powerful laxative. I have heard some unfortunate stories of people using branches from cascara as roasting sticks for hot dogs... so it is a good tree to know!

I have planted dozens of this tree around my hedgerows to help create a privacy screen without getting too tall. I really like it and it grows quickly. A nice PNW native tree

I also use it a lot in my restoration designs. It has a habit of volunteering a lot--the berries are eaten by birds and other critters and since the tree is a laxative the seeds quickly pass through the critter that ate them. I'm hoping that by planting a bunch of it that I can help this tree come back in my area!

http://nativeplantspnw.com/cascara-frangula-purshiana/
https://oregonstate.edu/trees/broadleaf_genera/species/cascara_buckthorn.htm
http://pnwplants.wsu.edu/PlantDisplay.aspx?PlantID=333
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_purshiana

Nifty, thanks. We considered that and had initially decided it wasn't as reference pics didn't quite look right on the leaves, and some were more like 45ft and fairly beefy... but your links look right.

I had spotted a few in the homestead area of my land, but today saw many dozen when we hiked in to find a back corner post.

Also found a nice cluster of blackcherry, maybe 20, which is as as many as I've seen scattered over the whole place tol now. If I find the time I'll knock down some of the surrounding cottonwood to give them some space.

A nice hike, but sad to see so little regrowth since the old growth cedar was taken out maybe 80 years back...

Definitely keeping the 'laxative marshmellow stick' option filed away in case I somehow end up with unwanted guests at a campfire...

Interesting, appears that Cascara is harder than bigleaf maple and blackcherry, which were previously at the top of my list for tool handle experiments!

It's still much softer than dogwood, but even if that was not protected it is so scarce on my land that I wouldn't cut it... unless it blew over first!