Frangula purshiana

Frangula purshiana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Frangula
Species:
F. purshiana
Binomial name
Frangula purshiana
(DC.) A.Gray ex J.G.Cooper[1]
Natural range
Synonyms[1]
  • Cardiolepis obtusa Raf.
  • Rhamnus alnifolia Pursh
  • Rhamnus purshiana DC.
  • Rhamnus purshiana var. hirtella Schelle

Frangula purshiana (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara sagrada, bearberry, and in the Chinook Jargon, chittem stick and chitticum stick; syn. Rhamnus purshiana) is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to western North America from southern British Columbia south to central California, and eastward to northwestern Montana.

The dried bark of cascara was used as a laxative in folk medicine by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, and later worldwide in conventional medicines until 2002.

  1. ^ a b "Frangula purshiana (DC.) A.Gray ex J.G.Cooper". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2021-05-22.