Buckleya distichophylla, commonly called piratebush, is a flowering plant in the family Santalaceae, native to the Southern United States. It is a rare plant, found only in sporadic mountainous areas of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The plant was initially discovered and described as a member of the genus Borya in the olive family by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 along the French Broad River in the vicinity of Paint Rock in Western North Carolina. The plant was rediscovered in 1843 by Samuel Buckley with John Torrey classifying the plant as Buckleya distichophylla.