All plants /Shrub /Carolina Buckthorn
Carolina Buckthorn
Frangula caroliniana, buckthorn family. Uncommon in East and Central Texas.
At a glance
- What
- Red-ripening-to-black berries
- How
- Ripe black fruit only, in moderation
- When
- Late summer to fall
- Where
- Woodland edges and slopes
- Value
- Sugars
Caution: Eat only fully ripe BLACK fruit and only in small amounts; unripe red berries are purgative. Because buckthorns can disagree with people, this is a taste-and-wait plant. Never eat a wild plant on this guide's word alone. Confirm identity against several sources and learn the look-alikes first.
Identification
Glossy strongly-veined leaves and berries that ripen through red to black on the same cluster. Only the black ones are for eating, sparingly.
On the trail
A modest sweet snack for the cautious; better known to the birds than to foragers.
Photo: DouglasGoldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Forages well with
Forage safely. Never eat a wild plant on this site's word alone. Confirm identity with several sources, learn the look-alikes, and when in doubt, leave it in the ground.