Invasive buckthorn sightings stay high across Canada, but easing
iNaturalist Community
Invasive Species
If you're pulling woody saplings out of a local woodlot or fencerow, there's a good chance it's common buckthorn, a shrub that crowds out native plants and whose seeds birds spread into new areas every fall.
Common buckthorn is a shrub that was brought over from Europe and has spread aggressively across Canadian forests and field edges, crowding out native plants. This week, iNaturalist users logged 712 sightings of it across Canada, making it one of the most-observed plants in the country, though that's down from 893 sightings the week before.
Key Findings
712 observations of common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) were logged in Canada over the past 7 days
That's a decrease of 181 observations (about 20%) compared to 893 the previous week
Buckthorn remained among the most-observed plant species nationwide on iNaturalist this week
chevron_right Technical Summary
Common buckthorn, an invasive shrub, was the most-logged plant species on iNaturalist in Canada this week with 712 sightings, though that's a drop from 893 the week before.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) — 712 observations this week
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a species in the family Rhamnaceae. iNaturalist users recorded 712 observations of it in Canada in the 7 days before today, among the most for any plant the...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Rhamnus cathartica, the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the central British Isles south to Morocco, and east to Kyrgyzst...