Rhamnus ussuriensis

Description

Rhamnus cathartica is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall, with grey-brown bark and spiny branches. The leaves are elliptic to oval, 25-90 mm (1-3 1-2 in) long and 12-35 mm (1-2-1 3-8 in) broad; they are green, turning yellow in autumn, and are arranged somewhat variably in opposite to subopposite pairs or alternately. The flowers are yellowish-green, with four petals; they are dioecious and insect pollinated. The fruit is a globose black drupe, 6-10 mm (1-4-3-8 in) across, and contains two to four seeds. The species was originally named by Carl Linnaeus as Rhamnus catharticus, but this spelling was corrected to cathartica as the genus name Rhamnus is treated as being of feminine gender.