A shrub or small tree with thorny branches and berries, used historically as a medicinal plant and for making dyes.
From 'buck' (possibly referring to male animals browsing on it) and 'thorn.' The plant has been known since medieval times; 'buckthorn' appears in old herbals and botanical texts.
Buckthorn berries were used for centuries as a natural laxative and yellow dye—monks in medieval scriptoriums used buckthorn to create the golden yellows in illuminated manuscripts before synthetic dyes were invented.
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