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Rhamnus californica 'Mound San Bruno' (San Bruno Coffeeberry) - A very nice selection of the California native Coffeeberry. This evergreen shrub is more compact than the species. It can typically be found growing to 4-6 feet tall and twice as wide as it is tall with leaves that about half the size of the species and other cultivars. Originally thought to make a small mound to only 3 feet tall however the largest plant that we know of has grown to 6 feet tall and is nearly 14 feet wide and we have been told of plants reaching 8 feet tall. The greenish-white flowers are inconspicuous but they do produce many dark red, almost black, berries. Grows in full sun or light shade.
Grows well in full sun or light shade. A hardy shrub that can grow in most soils, but best in a sandy well-drained soil. Drought tolerant once established and cold hardy to 5° F and possibly a bit colder. Can be pruned to shape of even trained up as a small tree. A great plant for the natural California garden and useful on a slope for erosion control. Its flowers and fruit are attractive to wildlife yet it is relatively resistant to predation by deer.
Rhamnus californica 'Mound San Bruno' is a selection was made by Roger Raiche from plants growing on San Bruno Mountain. For more information see our listing on the species, Rhamnus californica. We also grow the cultivars 'Eve Case' and 'Leatherleaf'.
Recent nomenclatural changes have given rise to a name change for this plant to Frangula californica - we continued to list it as Rhamnus californica until this new name has wider recognition. We often get inquiries about whether the berries of Rhamnus californica (or Frangula californica as it is now called) are poisonous. We have grown the species and several cultivars for many years and did not list it as poisonous. It is not listed in Thomas Fuller and Elizabeth McClintock in Poisonous Plants in California, the book we typically rely on for such information, but is does make it onto various poisonous plant lists such as the one included in California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein, Dave Fross and Bart O'Brien and on Dr. Ann King Filmer's list on the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences website Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants. While there is some indication that aboriginal Californians may have used the berries as a food source and some suggest the fruit can be used to make a coffee like beverage, a jam or even be eaten raw, the general consensus is that if one eats enough of the berries or they are particularly sensitive, then it could make one sick. Another way to judge this is that, while this plant does come up on poisonous plant lists, it does not come up on any credible edible plant or forage plant lists. Compared to much more toxic plants, it seems clear that Rhamnus californica is not very poisonous, but enough so that we have decided to note on our website that Rhamnus californica be considered a poisonous plant.
The information displayed on this page about Rhamnus californica 'Mound San Bruno' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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