alder buckthorn

noun

1. a shrub or small tree, Frangula alnus, of Eurasia and northern Africa, having nonedible red fruit that turns black when ripe.

alder buckthorn

noun

1. a Eurasian rhamnaceous shrub, Frangula alnus, with small greenish flowers and black berry-like fruits

Word History and Origins

Origin of alder buckthorn¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

It is really an American Buckthorn, the Rhamnus Persiana, and it possesses no true advantage over our black Alder Buckthorn, though the bark of this latter must be used a year old, or it will cause griping.

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Lozenges also of the Alder Buckthorn are dispensed under the name of "Aperient Fruit Lozenges;" one, or perhaps two, being taken for a dose as required.

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