![]() ![]() If you find buckthorn on your property, take aggressive control measures to eliminate it. When in doubt, contact your local DNR Forestry office, MN Extension Service agent, or a local Master Gardener. ![]() Leave arrangement is alternate or sub-opposite on the branch, though they may appear opposite at times.įor photos and tips to help you identify exotic buckthorn, visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ website. Exotic buckthorn forms dense thickets that crowd out beneficial native vegetation.Ĭommon buckthorn leaves are finely toothed, with deep, incurving veins, and often appear glossy. ![]() There are often multiple stems at the base, and bark is brown, with elongate silvery corky projections. Unfortunately, it can be a little tricky to tell these exotic species from a variety of beneficial plants including native plums or cherries.īoth common and glossy buckthorns are tall understory shrubs or small trees up to 20 to 25 feet high, with a spreading, loosely branched crown. Identifying buckthorn is the first step to stopping its spread and removing it from your property. Plus, it forms an impenetrable layer of vegetation and lacks “natural controls” like insects or diseases that would curb its growth. Buckthorn also contributes to erosion by shading out other plants that grow on the forest floor. Other buckthorn downsides include its ability to host other pests, such as crown rust fungus and soybean aphids. Given time, buckthorn has the potential to overrun a woodland, greatly reducing the property’s value to a variety of wildlife, including whitetail deer. Left unchecked, buckthorn out-competes and eliminates beneficial native plants that form the mid-level of the forest understory-where many species of birds make their nests. It’s fast-growing and hardy, providing berries and dense cover that leafs out early and stays green after many other trees and shrubs have lost their leaves in the fall. Two varieties-glossy buckthorn and common, or European buckthorn-are found in Minnesota, and you don’t want either one on your property.īuckthorn may look like a boon to the forest. Buckthorn is a brushy exotic invader capable of wreaking havoc on woodland wildlife habitat. ![]()
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