The tree-like Anatolian buckthorn grows to ten feet and has thorns. The insignificant greenish yellow flowers produce berries that long remain green and then finally turn brown or black Rhamnus petiolaris is endemic to Central Anatolia , where it grows on rocky soil at altitudes between 3,300 and 8,300 feet , now often wilder than the earlier plantations. This species of buckthorn, one of 22 in Turkey , was cultivated in the 20th century. There were plantations of buckthorn near Kayseri , Tokat, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ankara , Maras , and Konya .Historical Data
Buckthorn berries are an old Turkish dye source, whose dyestuffs can be identified in Turkish carpets from the 15th to 17th centuries. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the dried, unripe berries were exported for their dyestuffs - mainly for silk - around the world. Other species of buckthorn, such as rock buckthorn (Rhamnus saxatilis), are not native to Turkey but rather to large areas of Europe , where their dye qualities have been known and valued for centuries. The dried, unripe berries of Rhamnus saxatilis were exported from Persia to Europe , where they were in demand as Persian berries."
