Stats

Lifespan: Decades
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Europe and western Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Common

About

An invasive shrub or small tree native to Eurasia, now widespread across North America where it dominates forest understories. Its species name cathartica reflects its notoriously potent berries, which act as a powerful laxative — historically used as medicine but capable of causing severe gastrointestinal distress.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Rhamnus
Species: Rhamnus cathartica