Alaterno is an evergreen shrub up to 5m high, of the family Rhamnaceae. It can be found in several coastal areas of the Province of Salerno.
It prefers warm and sunny exposures, it adapts to acidic or chalky, stony grounds and it resist to drought or extreme dump and to salinity brought by the sea winds. It can also be cultivated in jars. The multiplication is made through planting, from September to October, or scion.
It is a branchy plant, with leathery, elliptic, shiny green leaves, which are yellowish in the inferior part. The flowers are yellow-greenish and its fruits are round drupes the size of a pea, first red then blackish when it is fully matured in autumn. The fruits are used for their laxative properties, while the yellow wood is used in cabinetmaking.
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Notes
Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 voll.) - Edagricole - 1982
Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (a cura di), 2005 - An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora - Palombi Editori