Frangula caroliniana, commonly called the Carolina buckthorn, is a deciduous upright shrub or small tree native to the southeastern, south-central, and mid-western parts of the United States, from Texas east to Florida and north as far as Maryland, Ohio, Missouri, and Oklahoma.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map There is also an isolated population in the State of Nuevo León in northeastern Mexico. It is found in a wide variety of habitats, including barrens, forests, and limestone bluffs.Flora of North America Frangula caroliniana
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
⚠ sources differ — GIFT: 8.99 m · USDA: 6.1 m · TRY: 10.67 m
Plant height max4.57 m
Plant height min3.66 m
Seed mass171 mg
Seed mass max171 mg
Seed mass min171 mg
Life cycle & reproduction23
Bloom periodLate Spring
Coppice potentialNo
Deciduousnessdeciduous
Dispersal typeanimal
Flower colouryellow
Flower conspicuousNo
Fruit seed period beginSummer
Fruit seed period endFall
Growth rate USDAModerate
Life formshrub or tree
Life spanperennial
Lifespan categoryShort
Propagated by bare rootNo
Propagated by bulbNo
Propagated by containerNo
Propagated by cormNo
Propagated by cuttingsYes
Propagated by seedNo
Propagated by sodNo
Propagated by sprigsNo
Propagated by tubersNo
Resprout abilityNo
Seed spread rateRapid
Habitat & environment19
Adapted to coarse textured soilsYes
Adapted to fine textured soilsYes
Adapted to medium textured soilsYes
BloatNone
Climatetemperate
Climberself-supporting
Foliage colorGreen
Foliage porosity summerModerate
Foliage porosity winterPorous
Foliage textureCoarse
Fruit colourblack
Growth formtree
Growth form USDASingle Crown
Known allelopathNo
Leaf retentionNo
Low growing grassNo
Shape and orientationErect
Small grainNo
Woodinesswoody
Physiology & chemistry18
Anaerobic toleranceLow
Caco3 toleranceMedium
Cold stratification requiredNo
Drought toleranceLow
Fire resistantNo
Fire toleranceLow
Frost free days min168 days
Leaf dry-matter content (LDMC)226 mg/g
Nitrogen fixation levelNone
Photosynthetic pathwayC3
Precipitation max51 in
Precipitation min16 in
Salinity toleranceNone
Shade toleranceLow
Soil pH max7.5 pH
Soil pH min6 pH
Specific leaf area (SLA)27.58 mm²/mg
Temperature min-27 °F
Uses & economy10
Berry nut seed productNo
Christmas tree productNo
Fodder productNo
Lumber productNo
Naval store productNo
Nursery stock productNo
Palatable humanNo
Post productNo
Pulpwood productNo
Veneer productNo
Other traits6
Fall conspicuousNo
Fruit seed conspicuousNo
Fruit seed persistenceNo
Height at 20yr10.67 m
Planting density max1 280 per acre
Planting density min640 per acre
05DNA & barcoding6 specimens
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 caroliniana has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens6
Marker genes6
GenBank sequences6
eDNA detections2
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ 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.
★COI-5P★matK2★rbcL2★ITS2★ITS2trnH-psbA
animal barcodeplant barcodefungal barcodemarker
06Genome at a glanceGoaT
The complete instruction manualFrangula caroliniana 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
Genome size425 430 000 bp
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).
BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb
FUNGUS0.04 Gb
INSECT0.25 Gb
THIS GENOME Frangula caroliniana0.43 Gb
HUMAN3.2 Gb
WHEAT17 Gb
FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb
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.
Ploidy2× diploid · measured
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type8 030 records
Wild obs. + sensor7 418
Museum / vouchered612
Origin
Native4
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO16 360 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy85% within 1 km
≤100 m 4 377≤1 km 656≤10 km 300>10 km 606
5 939 georeferenced · 1 479 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor7 418
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.
Coordinate accuracy31% within 1 km
≤100 m 32≤1 km 71≤10 km 172>10 km 53
328 georeferenced · 284 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence612
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions44 of 63 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Chicago, US
117
Wuzhou, CN
67
Fort Worth, US
57
Jackson, US
56
Madison, US
51
Bloomington, US
28
Fayetteville, US
20
GAlocation not on record
16
Tampa, US
15
BAYLUlocation not on record
13
Little Rock, US
11
AUAlocation not on record
10
Columbia, US
9
Saint Louis, US
9
US
9
DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record
9
Asheville, US
8
Clemson, US
8
University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record
7
Tuscaloosa, US
6
Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record
5
Austin, US
5
Bangkok, TH
5
Chapel Hill, US
5
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
5
Williamsburg, US
4
Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record
3
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
3
Norfolk, US
3
Conway, US
3
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
3
Tempe, US
2
University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record
2
Macomb, US
2
Knoxville, US
2
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
2
Stephenville, US
2
Minia, EG
2
Bronx, US
2
Moscow State Universitylocation not on record
2
College Park, US
1
McWane Science Centerlocation not on record
1
Tennessee Technological Universitylocation not on record
1
University of South Carolina Salkehatchielocation not on record
1
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record
1
Albuquerque, US
1
EL PASO, US
1
Cambridge, US
1
James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record
1
Provo, US
1
Fargo, US
1
Davenport, US
1
Millersville, US
1
Beijing, CN
1
Oskarshamn, SE
1
Russellville, US
1
Richmond, US
1
Lincoln, US
1
San Angelo, US
1
Phoenix, US
1
North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record
1
Dekalb, US
1
Fredericksburg, US
1
63 institutions · 611 of 612 vouchered records shown · 1 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Frangula caroliniana 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
Detections DNA found2
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median23.1 °C 23.1–23.1
Seasonal swing summer↔winter22.0 °C
Max temp (day)28.7 °C
Min temp (night)18.5 °C
Precipitation117 mm/mo
Air humidity57.3 %
Moisture balance-81.2 mm/mo
Vapour deficit1,205 Pa
Wind speed6.00 m/s
Cloud cover35.8 %
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
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.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation1 languages↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility8 030 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics6 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗