Buckthorn Bumelia
Sideroxylon lycioides
Found in maritime forests and thickets; swamps; moist forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 9.8 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to August
- Fruiting season
- September to November
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 42 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 80 animals.
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Sideroxylon
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Enaemia pupulaBumelia Leafworm Moth, Streaked Lactura
- Enaemia subfervensSpeckled Lactura
- Euerythra phasmaRed-Tailed Specter Moth
- Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
- Litodonta hydromeliOrange-Banded Prominent
- Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
- Zomaria interruptolineanaBroken-Lined Zomaria
8BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sideroxylon
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Sideroxylon
- Colletes bumeliae
- Colletes inuncantipedis
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sideroxylon
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Patagioenas leucocephalaWhite-crowned Pigeon
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Sapotaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–9b
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “About 9.8 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Buckthorn; Buckthorn Bully; Bumelia lycioides
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications