Frangula alnus
Bourdaine (Frangula alnus) is a shrub of the Rhamnaceae family which generally grows in very damp environments and whose bark is used as a purgative.
It is a shrub 1 to 5 metres high.
The bark is easily split : the outer is brownish-black, the inner is green. Numerous elongated greyish lenticels are visible on the surface; the bark gives off a strong, unpleasant odour.
The stems are slender and the branches alternate.
The leaves are alternate, obovate, apiculate, smooth-edged, hairless, with 7-9 pairs of arched veins, short-stalked and shiny green above.
The small, greenish flowers, which bloom fromApril to July, give globular fruit that are first green, then red and finally black when ripe. They are fresh, juicy and slightly sweet, but poisonous.
Their buds are brown and naked, with no scales.()
Borage can be used to make decoctions and macerations to protect vines.
