Alder Buckthorn
Mezereon is a small, sparsely branched shrub growing to a height of 30- 120 cm. The twigs are greyish, the buds dark brown. The flowers appear before the leaves in early spring (February-March) and have a strong fragrance. The round drupes ripen in July and contain a single ovoid black- brown seed. Both fruit and bark are poisonous.
This shrub is a native of eastern North America from Indiana northward to Canada. It grows on rocky hillsides and dry banks, mostly on limestone. It requires abundant light but will grow on poorer and drier soils. It has been cultivated in Europe for several centuries, being valued for the vivid colouring of the foliage in the autumn and the ornamental fruits.
Because of its dense root system and tendency to develop root suckers it is also sometimes planted on hillsides to prevent erosion. In some parts of Europe experiments are being carried out to cultivate it in plantations for tannin, as its leaves contain up to 25 per cent of this substance.
Sea buckthorn is a spiny shrub or small crooked tree 2-7 m high. The stem is covered with reddish-brown bark breaking up into scales. Annual shoots are golden, brown and terminate in a spine; the flower buds of male plants are round, those of female plants small. The flowers appear in April.
The orange-coloured fruits ripen at the end of September and remain on the plant late into the winter as they are only taken by birds when other fruits have been finished. This shrub has a widespreading root system and puts out root suckers, and is thereby a good plant for anchoring sand dunes. The roots have nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria that enrich both shrub and soil with this important substance. The sea buckthorn is reliably propagated by means of seeds and root cuttings.
A native of southern and western Europe, it grows on coastal dunes as far north as Poland, Sweden and Norway. It is found mainly on gravelly and sandy deposits formed by streams and rivers and on sand dunes bordering the sea. It is a sun-loving species that does well even in poorer soils. It is planted in parks as an ornamental because of its attractive fruits; however, shrubs of both sexes must be close to one another to produce these.
