a shrub or small tree, Rhamnus purshiana of NW North America, whose bark is a source of cascara sagrada: family Rhamnaceae
Word origin
C19: from Spanish: bark, from cascar to break, from Vulgar Latin quassicāre (unattested) to shake violently, shatter, from Latin quassāre to dash to pieces
cascara in American English
(kæsˈkɛrə)
US
noun
1.
a small tree (Rhamnus purshiana) of the buckthorn family, growing on the Pacific coast of the U.S. and furnishing cascara sagrada