Frangula caroliniana, commonly called the Carolina buckthorn,[3] is a deciduous upright shrub or small tree native to the southeastern, south-central, and mid-western parts of the United States, from Texas east to Florida and north as far as Maryland, Ohio, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

[4] There is also an isolated population in the State of Nuevo León in northeastern Mexico.

[5] It is found in a wide variety of habitats, including barrens, forests, and limestone bluffs.

The flowers are very small and inconspicuous, pale yellow-green, bell-shaped, appearing in leaf axils in late spring after the leaves.

The fruit is a small (1/3 inch or 8.3 mm) round drupe; at first red, but later turning black with juicy flesh.