Invasive buckthorn sightings surge across Canada this week
iNaturalist Community
Invasive Species
If you've noticed a shrub with glossy, toothed leaves and dark berries crowding out the understory on your walks, it's likely common buckthorn, a plant that chokes out native wildflowers and tree seedlings wherever it takes hold.
Common buckthorn is a shrub from Europe that spreads aggressively and pushes out native plants in forests and parks. This week, people logging plant sightings on iNaturalist spotted it 239 times across Canada, a jump from 182 sightings the week before. That rise just means more people are noticing and reporting it, which helps track where this invasive plant is showing up.
Key Findings
239 observations of common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) were logged in Canada over the past 7 days.
This is an increase of 57 observations compared to 182 the previous week.
The species ranked among the most-observed plants in Canada on iNaturalist this week.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Sightings of common buckthorn, an invasive shrub, spiked to 239 observations across Canada in one week, up from 182 the week before, as citizen scientists track its spread on iNaturalist.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) — 239 observations this week
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a species in the family Rhamnaceae. iNaturalist users recorded 239 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...