The genus of Carolina buckthorn, Frangula caroliniana, has been changed
from Rhamnus.This is also one of the trees with the
alternate common name of yellowwood, the other being American smoke tree, Cotinus obovatus, and that is besides yellowwood, Cladrastis kentukea, itself.The
tree is small enough that it was in a 3 way tie for the fifth smallest Alabama state champion
tree with 46 points and having just met the minimum trunk diameter of
10 inches, but also being 30 feet tall, and having an average limb spread of 24 feet. A nomination of mine would have at least been the previous state champion had it been measured before being ran over by a skidder that for reasons unknown crossed over the line from a timber removal operation on the adjacent property at that very point. The leaves of Carolina buckthorn have parallel
secondary veins like other members of the buckthorn family.The bark is usually a smooth although
irregularly mottled gray like a black and white photograph of either a bad case of
the hives and/or cellulite.The inedible berry sized
fruits change from green to red to black as they ripen in late summer.
