About Frangula rubra (Greene) Grubov
Frangula rubra is a spreading shrub that reaches a maximum height close to 2 metres (6+1⁄2 ft). Its bark can be red or gray. The species produces thin, deciduous leaves that are generally oval in shape, green to grayish in color, and grow up to 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) long. Leaf edges are either smooth or faintly toothed. Its inflorescence is an umbel holding up to 15 flowers. Each flower has five pointed sepals that open into a starlike shape, plus five smaller, greenish petals. The fruit is a drupe that ripens to black. The drupe measures just over 1 cm long and contains 2 seeds. This plant is native to mountain and plateau regions of northern and eastern California and western Nevada in the United States, including the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains. It grows in a wide range of habitat types, including forests, chaparral, and sagebrush. The berry of Frangula rubra is inedible, and may produce a laxative effect.
