Frangula alnus
Mill. · speciesAt a glance
Sources15 archives
Databases and archives Frangula alnus's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation12 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility367 841 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI29 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics45 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
dukesphytochemcompounds
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Frangula alnus, commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northernmost Africa, and western Asia, from Ireland and Great Britain north to the 68th parallel in Scandinavia, east to central Siberia and Xinjiang in western China, and south to northern Morocco, Turkey, and the Alborz in Iran and Caucasus Mountains; in the northwest of its range (Ireland, Scotland), it is rare and scattered. It is also introduced and naturalised in eastern North America.Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins .Flora Europaea: Frangula alnusDen virtuella floran: Frangula alnus (in Swedish, with detailed maps)Stace, Clive, et al. Interactive Flora of NW Europe: Frangula alnus
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology21
Life cycle & reproduction35
Diet & foraging2
Habitat & environment30
Physiology & chemistry27
Uses & economy14
Other traits8
Compounds documented for Frangula alnus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds78 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANTHRAQUINONES | 70,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| TOCOPHEROL | 200 ppm | DukesPhytochem |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Frangula alnus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Frangula alnus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 2023×GoaT · DTOL Flowering Plants Estimates Kew · GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · slov-fl +12
2n 223×CCDB · ita-fl · CCDB · book-fedorov · CCDB · Cave1963
2n 262×CCDB · fl-europaea · CCDB · book-fedorov
n 102×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · CromoCat 2015
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · family-scale
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type367 841 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions112 of 207 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Uniwersytet Wrocławskilocation not on record | 25 213 |
| Helsinki, FI | 654 |
| Olocation not on record | 427 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 401 |
| LDlocation not on record | 337 |
| Oulu, FI | 254 |
| Salzburg, AT | 226 |
| Trondheim, NO | 212 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 167 |
| Bergen, NO | 149 |
| Görlitz, DE | 133 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 125 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 100 |
| Turku, FI | 97 |
| Karlsruhe, DE | 88 |
| Tartu, EE | 73 |
| Uniwersytet Warszawskilocation not on record | 63 |
| KMNlocation not on record | 58 |
| Kuopio, FI | 58 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 57 |
| Madison, US | 55 |
| GBS RAN - Glavny Botanichesky Sad Rossijskoj Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 53 |
| TUR-Alocation not on record | 52 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 51 |
| Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiejlocation not on record | 50 |
| BFLlocation not on record | 50 |
| Salamanca, ES | 48 |
| Québec, CA | 46 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 46 |
| València, ES | 43 |
| Voronezh State Universitylocation not on record | 40 |
| Green Bay, US | 39 |
| CICYTEXlocation not on record | 37 |
| Barcelona, ES | 37 |
| Montréal, CA | 36 |
| Chicago, US | 36 |
| Instytut Ochrony Przyrody Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 35 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 33 |
| Burlington, US | 32 |
| ISAlocation not on record | 31 |
| Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitat Greifswaldlocation not on record | 30 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 30 |
| Tallinn, EE | 29 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 27 |
| Philadelphia, US | 26 |
| MAlocation not on record | 24 |
| South Kensington, GB | 24 |
| Vitoria, ES | 24 |
| Madrid, ES | 23 |
| Mlocation not on record | 22 |
| BDBClocation not on record | 21 |
| Saint John, CA | 20 |
| Bern, CH | 20 |
| SVK001location not on record | 19 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 19 |
| Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowielocation not on record | 19 |
| BClocation not on record | 18 |
| TROMlocation not on record | 17 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 17 |
| Durham, US | 15 |
| Stockholm, SE | 15 |
| Uniwersytet Opolskilocation not on record | 15 |
| DBF-NHMDlocation not on record | 14 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 14 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 14 |
| College of the Atlantic, Museumlocation not on record | 13 |
| Dekalb, US | 13 |
| Berlin, DE | 12 |
| Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical Universitylocation not on record | 11 |
| Badajoz, ES | 10 |
| St. Paul, US | 10 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 10 |
| Museo Achille Folettolocation not on record | 10 |
| Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU)location not on record | 10 |
| Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicachlocation not on record | 9 |
| Bloomington, US | 9 |
| Alicante, ES | 9 |
| Porrentruy, CH | 9 |
| University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 9 |
| Uniwersytet Jagiellońskilocation not on record | 9 |
| Acadia Universitylocation not on record | 8 |
| Rovaniemi, FI | 8 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 8 |
| Zürich, CH | 7 |
| Porvoo, FI | 7 |
| New Brunswick, US | 7 |
| Zürich, CH | 7 |
| Toronto, CA | 6 |
| College Park, US | 6 |
| PrivatHerblocation not on record | 6 |
| Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record | 5 |
| Paris, FR | 5 |
| Boise, US | 5 |
| Fulda, DE | 5 |
| Tampa, US | 5 |
| Mount Pleasant, US | 5 |
| Granada, ES | 5 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 5 |
| Oswego, US | 5 |
| Entomological Society of Latvialocation not on record | 4 |
| Whitewater, US | 4 |
| Smithsonian Institutionlocation not on record | 4 |
| Madrid, ES | 4 |
| The Tula Region State Institution of Culture "Tula Museum Association"location not on record | 4 |
| Hobart, AU | 4 |
| Pamplona, ES | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 4 |
| Staatliches Museum fuer Naturkunde Karlsruhe (State Museum of Natural History)location not on record | 4 |
| Jaén, ES | 4 |
| Ivano-Frankove, UA | 4 |
| Glarus, CH | 4 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 4 |
| New Haven, US | 4 |
| Auckland, NZ | 4 |
| Saint Louis, US | 3 |
| Minia, EG | 3 |
| Sion, CH | 3 |
| Canberra, AU | 3 |
| Winterthur, CH | 3 |
| nbflocation not on record | 3 |
| Lincoln, US | 3 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 3 |
| GJOlocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Gdansk, Dept. of Plant Taxonomy & Nature Conservationlocation not on record | 3 |
| National Museum Waleslocation not on record | 3 |
| Dresden, DE | 3 |
| Kew, GB | 3 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 3 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 3 |
| Forssa, FI | 3 |
| Pondicherry, IN | 2 |
| Philadelphia, US | 2 |
| Tromso University Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| H-Schuhwlocation not on record | 2 |
| DULlocation not on record | 2 |
| GZUlocation not on record | 2 |
| Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reservelocation not on record | 2 |
| BSBIlocation not on record | 2 |
| CJBNlocation not on record | 2 |
| BRNUlocation not on record | 2 |
| LfUlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Royal Botanical Gardenslocation not on record | 2 |
| Tilburg, NL | 2 |
| Göteborg, SE | 2 |
| Whitehorse, CA | 2 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 2 |
| Morgantown, US | 2 |
| Coimbra, PT | 2 |
| Bronx, US | 2 |
| Northridge, US | 2 |
| Tula State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Chadron, US | 2 |
| UniKSlocation not on record | 2 |
| Knoxville, US | 2 |
| Flagstaff, US | 2 |
| NMBU:MINAlocation not on record | 2 |
| UoB-IBlocation not on record | 2 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 2 |
| Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Bocagelocation not on record | 2 |
| Fairfax, US | 2 |
| FLADlocation not on record | 1 |
| EL PASO, US | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 1 |
| Tempe, US | 1 |
| Provo, US | 1 |
| Oregon State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Pullman, US | 1 |
| The State Museum-Preserve "The Kulikovo pole"location not on record | 1 |
| University of Hulllocation not on record | 1 |
| Logan, US | 1 |
| FLASlocation not on record | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Kandalaksha State Nature Reservelocation not on record | 1 |
| SWlocation not on record | 1 |
| Bourges, FR | 1 |
| Claremont, US | 1 |
| Sevilla, ES | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Gijón, ES | 1 |
| Córdoba, ES | 1 |
| Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record | 1 |
| Royal Botanic Garden Edinburghlocation not on record | 1 |
| Millersville, US | 1 |
| Taipei, TW | 1 |
| TAFORI-LSRClocation not on record | 1 |
| BG-NMNHSlocation not on record | 1 |
| Beijing, CN | 1 |
| Elikins, US | 1 |
| Universite de Montreal, L'Herbier Marie-Victorinlocation not on record | 1 |
| Wlocation not on record | 1 |
| JBCLMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Dhaka, BD | 1 |
| Herb. BBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| AUT001location not on record | 1 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 1 |
| Uppsala, SE | 1 |
| Muséum Henri Lecoqlocation not on record | 1 |
| Moscow, US | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| Xiamen, CN | 1 |
| Fargo, US | 1 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 1 |
| Pamplona, ES | 1 |
| Vancouver, CA | 1 |
| John May Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Frangula alnus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.