buckthorn

/ˌbʌkˈθɔrn/

Other forms: buckthorns

Definitions of buckthorn

1. noun

   a shrub or shrubby tree of the genus Rhamnus; fruits are source of yellow dyes or pigments
   types:

   Rhamnus purshianus, bearberry, bearwood, cascara buckthorn, chittamwood, chittimwood

   shrubby tree of the Pacific coast of the United States; yields cascara sagrada

   Carolina buckthorn, Rhamnus carolinianus, indian cherry

   deciduous shrub of eastern and central United States having black berrylike fruit; golden-yellow in autumn

   California buckthorn, California coffee, Rhamnus californicus, coffeeberry

   evergreen shrub of western United States bearing small red or black fruits

   Rhamnus frangula, alder buckthorn, alder dogwood

   small tree common in Europe

   Rhamnus croceus, red-berry, redberry

   small spiny evergreen shrub of western United States and Mexico with minute flowers and bright red berries

   type of:

   bush, shrub

   a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
2. noun

   any shrub or small tree of the genus Bumelia
   types:

   Bumelia lycioides, mock orange, shittim, shittimwood, southern buckthorn

   shrubby thorny deciduous tree of southeastern United States with white flowers and small black drupaceous fruit

   Bumelia lanuginosa, black haw, chittamwood, chittimwood, false buckthorn, shittimwood

   deciduous tree of southeastern United States and Mexico

   type of:

   bush, shrub

   a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
3. noun

   an Old World plantain with long narrow ribbed leaves widely established in temperate regions
   synonyms: English plantain, Plantago lanceolata, narrow-leaved plantain, ribgrass, ribwort, ripple-grass

   type of:

   plantain

   any of numerous plants of the genus Plantago; mostly small roadside or dooryard weeds with elliptic leaves and small spikes of very small flowers; seeds of some used medicinally