Rhamnus cathartica (buckthorn) in Ireland - the definitive sighting

A few posts back I had excitedly wondered if I had found common buckthorn in Muckross Abbey in Killarney. I was determined to find this shrub which is a relative rarity in Ireland but has become a dominant woody invasive plants in the US Midwest.  With the help of Helana Twomey in Killarney we worked out that the plant I found was not buckthorn and was spindle (Euonymus europeaus) which keys out quite close in Irish floras.  I am not inclined to easily give up and I proceeded with my search.

Working on a tip from Dr Declan Little of Woodlands of Ireland, I made my way up to Clonbur Woods on the Galway/Mayo border.  Despite being  festooned by a small plagues of flies we found buckthorn close to the lake (Lough Mask) and growing on the limestone. The population is reasonably large.  Though not dominant is certain is prevalent enough.  Unlike the situation in Chicago where this species can be a virtual monoculture, buckthorn in Ireland seems to be more generously inclined towards its neigbours.

Connemara - some proposed sites for the DePaul Study Abroad trip 2012

1. Roadside vegetation, 2 Angler near Ashleigh falls, 3. Galway hookers coming in to Roundstone, 4. Boats on Inisnee, 5 The road less traveled, 6. Inishnee in the evening, 7. View from Diamond Hill (Connemara National Park)>.

Some potential Wicklow sites for DePaul Study Abroad Trip 2013

1. Buckroney dunes; 2. Orchid, Kilmacurra Arboretum 3. Poulanass waterfall 4 High tower, Glendalough, 5. Near Upper Lake Glendalough, 6. Panorama, Glendalough

Eamonn's Woods, Killarney

A Rhamnus cathartica sighting in Killarney, Co Kerry? Turns out to be spindle!

Euonymus europaeus

Quite unexpectedly after my first morning botanizing in Killarney National Park I found, I believe, a nice specimen of common buckthorn [update: though.it turned out to be spindle (Euonymus europaeus), see below].  I found it right beside Mucross Abbey, a deserted monastic site in the national park.  It is known to be a calcicole species here (though it can be found on quite acidic soils in the US Midwest) so it is not surprising to find it in the limestone region of the park..

Euonymus europaeus

The species is an old friend.  Because it is a problematic species from a management perspective in the US, it is hunted down and controlled (cut, poisoned and burned!) when it interferes with conservation plans for a preserve.  And rightly so, I would say.  However, it is attractive, hardy, and a great success in the US - my relationship with it has always been that of pupil and master, or perhaps merely envy on my part.  For whatever reason, I have spent the better part of a decade interested in this shrub, though truthfully we still don't know enough about it.

Those of you who know this plant well take a look a see if you agree with me that it is, in fact, buckthorn.  If it is not, I will be back in the field in the coming days.  The finely toothed leaves are almost opposite.  Though it is not fruiting yet the fruits are developing in clusters.  Also the bark is much grayer than I am used to seeing in the Midwest.

UPDATE 22nd July 2012: - There were enough differences between this specimen and R cathartica I am used to seeing in the midwest that I spend a little time working on it with some keys later that day.  With the assistance of old pals Helena Twomey and Bill Quirke (of Conservation Services) it was a much better fit for  spindle (Euonymus europaeus).  Fortunately I found buckthorn a few days later in Co Mayo.

Rhamnus cathartica in Ireland

A very helpful note from Dr Daniel Kelly from the Botany Department at Trinity College on the location of R cathartica in Ireland.  This otherwise very attractive shrub/small tree is a management nuisance in the Midwest, especially prevalent in the Chicago Wilderness region.

Dr Kelly reports from the 'Flora of Connemara & the Burren': "Woods, scrub, river-banks, rocky lake-shores and the margins of turloughs. Locally frequent on the limestone; very rare elsewhere..." "... Very frequent ... from near Oughterard to 3 km N. of Galway ... Locally abundant by the S. shore of L. Mask. Sparingly on the shore of L. Corrib in the grounds of Ashford Castle, and frequent on several of the islands."

It will be nice to see this plant in circumstances that do not provoke indignation and death-threats!