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Frangula alnus subsp. alnus
Small tree or shrub that grows up to 6 m. It is not thorny although it is named as a buckthorn. It is usually multistemmed, but rarely forms a small tree. The bark is dark blackish-brown, with bright lemon-yellow inner bark exposed if cut. The shoots are dark brown, the winter buds without bud scales, protected only by the densely hairy outer leaves. The leaves are ovate, 3–7 cm long by 2.5–4 cm wide, slightly downy on the veins, with an entire margin. They are arranged alternately on the stems. The flowers are small, 3–5 mm diameter, star-shaped with five greenish-white acute triangular petals, hermaphroditic, and insect pollinated, flowering in May to June in clusters of two to ten in the leaf axils. The fruit is a small black berry 6–10 mm diameter, ripening from green through red in late summer to dark purple or black in early autumn, containing two or three pale brown 5 mm seeds. The seeds are primarily dispersed by frugivorous birds, which readily eat the fruit.
Alder Buckthorn grows in wet soils in open woods, scrub, hedgerows and bogs, thriving well in sunlight and moderate shade; it prefers acidic soils though will also grow on neutral soils. Spotted in a pine forest (Pinus sylvestris) at 1400 meters high. Sierra de Guadarrama
Spotted on Jul 29, 2012
Submitted on Sep 4, 2012
1 Comment
I finally identified it as a Alder Buckthorn