Flora of Israel: Palestine Buckthorn

Rhamnus lycioides, Rhamnus palaestinus, Palestine Buckthorn,
Hebrew: אשחר ארץ-ישראלי, Arabic: السوّيد الفلسطيني

Scientific name:   Rhamnus lycioides L.
Synonym name:   Rhamnus palaestinus Boiss.
Common name:   Palestine Buckthorn
Hebrew name:   אשחר ארץ-ישראלי
Arabic name:   السوّيد الفلسطيني
Family:   Rhamnaceae, אשחריים


Life form:   Phanerophyte shrub
Spinescence:   Stems
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Green
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Rhamnus, Greek name for the buckthorn.

lycioides, resembling Lycium.
palaestinus, from Palestine.
The Hebrew name: אשחר, ashchar maybe because his black ( = shachor) berries.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.