Alder buckthorn
Frangula alnus
This rare buckthorn is subject to special legislative protection and you may not collect the berries or rear plants without a licence (from DOE N.I.) It is probably best, if you wish to grow these shrubs, to buy them from a licensed supplier such as Ulster Native Trees (Neville McKee).
Alder buckthorn was once common, coppiced and the wood used for charcoal. It is a bush of wet, though not waterlogged sites. It has a very long flowering season and long fruiting season from July to November.
Collection/Sowing
Pick berries as soon as they are ripe, extract the seed and stratify until March when they should be sown shallowly. Keep the seedbed moist.