For the love of Buckthorn

I wanted to bring up Rhamnus cathartica, common buckthorn, as a potential tree species for soil restoration. One of the egregious charges leveled against them is that of “increasing soil carbon and nitrogen through leaf litter”. Apparently this increases earthworm activity in the soil, which is supposedly a very bad thing. I’m not so sure….

I have had a lot of success growing ramps and trillium under buckthorn. Despite the supposed allelopathy and worm-mongering habits, these plants love the rich soil and cool shade cast by the buckthorn tree. The ramps have been happily blossoming and expanding for year after year, and are set to do so again this summer. I think that buckthorn has some potential for restoring abused soils.

The wood is also very hard and strong, and stunningly beautiful. It is of a small diameter though, and so not good for larger items. I am planning on making an ax handle from a buckthorn tree I cut down this spring (to open up a rich, moist spot for some currant bushes). A woodturner friend is especially excited to try turning buckthorn this year. Unfortunately, buckthorn wood smells quite awful when burnt, which may not be an issue for rocket mass heaters.

Places where I’ve cut buckthorn trees tend to turn out diverse and lovely and I suspect their having grown there may have something to do with it. I find that often small, gentle changes produce more diversity than dramatic or intense disturbances generally though…

What are some good things about buckthorn that you have found?

I should also mention glossy buckthorn while here! I’ve eaten a few of the berries before and been none the worse—they aren’t too bad. But their best characteristic seems to be the flowers, which bloom over a long season, attracting hosts of pollinators, especially small (native?) bees, hoverflies, and the like.

They have alternate rather than opposite leaves. The bark is smooth, unlike Common’s rough bark which resembles black birch. The wood is much softer.

What are your feelings about Sea buckthorn trees?
The orange berries are extremely tart, but highly nutritious.