European buckthorn, purging buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is commonly known by many regional names such as buckthorn, dyer's thorn, field berry tree, witches thorn, stag's thorn and prickly thorn. The shrub usually only grows a few meters high and prefers to grow on forest edges, hedges and in sparse forests. It rarely reaches heights of up to 7 meters, usually remaining shrubby and low. The name 'purging' (= purgative) refers to the fact that the fruits have a strong laxative effect. Because of this effect, trivial names such as 'Schissbeere', 'Amselbeere', 'Gelbbeere', 'Rainbeere' or 'Kreuzdornbeere' are common in German. In the past, buckthorn berries were used to produce the dye ‚sap green‘, and a yellow dye for staining wood was obtained from dried, crushed berries.
The wood of the buckthorn is unusually hard and heavy, ranging from a delicate orange-pink to pale red color and has a sensationally deep luster and shimmer for a native wood. We know of no other domestic wood with such shine and luster. Here, buckthorn wood can easily compete with the most beautiful rosewood from Brazil. In addition, the tree belongs to the Rhamnaceae family, which includes such illustrious woods as Pink Ivory (Rhamnus zeyheri), and we consider a comparison of this German close relative as native "Pink Ivory"with the genuine South African Pink Ivory to be entirely justified!
