Berberis

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub

Cultivation

Features:	✓	evergreen, deciduous

Scientific Names

Berberidaceae >

Berberis >

Berberis (Bér-be-ris, barberry, pepperidge bush) a genus of about 450-500 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. They are closely related to the genus Mahonia, which is included within Berberis by some botanists.

The genus is characterised by dimorphic shoots, with long shoots which form the structure of the plant, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long. The leaves on long shoots are non-photosynthetic, developed into three-spined thorns 3-30 mm long; the bud in the axil of each thorn-leaf then develops a short shoot with several normal, photosynthetic leaves. These leaves are 1-10 cm long, simple, and either entire, or with spiny margins. Only on young seedlings do leaves develop on the long shoots, with the adult foliage style developing after the young plant is 1-2 years old.

The deciduous species (e.g. Berberis thunbergii, B. vulgaris) are noted for good autumn colour, the leaves turning pink or red before falling. In some evergreen species from China (e.g. B. candidula, B. verruculosa), the leaves are brilliant white beneath, making them particularly attractive.

The flowers are produced singly or in racemes of up to 20 on a single flower-head. They are yellow or orange, 3-6 mm long, with six sepals and six petals in alternating whorls of three, the sepals usually coloured like the petals. The fruit is a small berry 5-15 mm long, ripening red or dark blue, often with a pink or violet waxy surface bloom; they may be either long and narrow (like a bar, hence 'barberry') or in other species, spherical.

The berries are edible, and rich in vitamin C, though with a very sharp flavour; the thorny shrubs make harvesting them difficult, so in most places they are not widely consumed.

Berberis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Mottled Pug.

Several are popular garden shrubs, grown for their ornamental leaves, yellow flowers, and red or blue-black berries. They are also valued for crime prevention; being very dense, viciously spiny shrubs, they make very effective barriers impenetrable to burglars. For this reason they are often planted below potentially vulnerable windows, and used as hedges and other barriers.

Berberis buxifolia (Calafate) and Berberis darwinii (Michay) are two species found in Patagonia in Argentina and Chile. Their edible purple fruits are used for jams and infusions; anyone who tries a berry is said to be certain to return to Patagonia. The calafate and michay are symbols of Patagonia.

Berberis vulgaris (European Barberry) is the alternate host species of the wheat rust Puccinia graminis, a serious fungal disease of wheat. For this reason, cultivation of this species is prohibited in many areas.

Some Berberis have become invasive species when planted outside of their native ranges, including B. glaucocarpa and B. darwinii in New Zealand (where it is now banned from sale and propagation), and B. thunbergii in some parts of North America.

Cultivation

Species

Selected species:

Europe & Asia, deciduous Berberis aemulans Berberis aetnensis Berberis aggregata Berberis amurensis Berberis angulosa Berberis aristata Berberis beaniana Berberis capillaris Berberis chinensis Berberis circumserrata Berberis cretica Berberis dasystachya Berberis diaphana Berberis dictyoneura Berberis dictyophylla Berberis dielsiana Berberis edgeworthiana Berberis floribunda Berberis forrestii Berberis francisci-ferdinandii Berberis gilgiana Berberis giraldii Berberis graminea Berberis gyalaica Berberis heteropoda Berberis hispanica Berberis jamesiana Berberis koreana Berberis lycium Berberis mitifolia Berberis morrisonensis Berberis mucrifolia Berberis oblonga Berberis parisepala Berberis poiretii Berberis prattii Berberis sherriffii Berberis sieboldii Berberis sikkimensis Berberis silva-taroucana Berberis temolaica Berberis thunbergii Berberis vernae Berberis virescens Berberis virgetorum Berberis vulgaris Berberis wilsoniae Berberis yunnanensis Berberis zabeliana

Europe & Asia, evergreen Berberis asiatica Berberis atrocarpa Berberis bergmannii Berberis calliantha Berberis candidula Berberis centiflora Berberis chrysosphaera Berberis concinna Berberis coriaria Berberis coxii Berberis dumicola Berberis gagnepainii Berberis glaucocarpa Berberis hookeri Berberis hypokerina Berberis insignis Berberis julianae Berberis kawakamii Berberis lycioides Berberis manipuriana Berberis panlanensis Berberis potaninii Berberis pruinosa Berberis replicata Berberis sargentiana Berberis soulieana Berberis sublevis Berberis taliensis Berberis tsangpoensis Berberis umbellata Berberis veitchii Berberis verruculosa

North America, deciduous Berberis canadensis Berberis fendleri South America, deciduous Berberis cabrerae Berberis chillanensis Berberis montana South America, evergreen Berberis actinacantha Berberis buxifolia Berberis comberi Berberis darwinii Berberis empetrifolia Berberis hakeoides Berberis heterophylla Berberis ilicifolia Berberis linearifolia Berberis negeriana Berberis trigona Berberis valdiviana

Gallery

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  Berberis gagnepainii three-spined thorn (modified long shoot leaf) with leafy short shoot. Each thorn is 20 mm long.

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  Berberis verruculosa upper side of shoot above, lower side below.

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  Berberis gagnepainii flower detail (flowers 7 mm diameter).

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  Berberis gagnepainii fruit.

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  Berberis thunbergii shrub.

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Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Read about Berberis in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Berberis (Arabic name). Berberidaceae. BarBerry. Ornamental deciduous or evergreen shrubs, cultivated for their handsome foliage assuming in most species brilliant autumnal tints, and for their bright yellow flowers and attractive fruit. Spiny shrubs with yellow inner bark and wood: Lvs. alternate, often fascicled, usually glabrous, simple, deciduous or evergreen: fls. in elongated or umbel-like, rarely compound racemes, or fascicled or solitary; sepals 6 with 2 or 3 bractlets below; petals 6, often smaller than sepals and usually with 2 glands near the base; stamens 6, included, the anthers opening with valves; ovary superior, 1-celled, with 1 to many ovules: fr. a berry with 1 or several oblong seeds.—Nearly 175 species in Amer. from Brit. Col. to Patagonia, in Asia, S.Eu., and N. Afr. Monogr. by Schneider in Bull. Hort. Boissier, Ser. II. 5:33, 133, 391, 449, 655, 800, 813 (1905). Mahonia is now considered by most botanists as a distinct genus, differing from the true barberries by the pinnate Lvs., by the racemes appearing in the axils of the bud-scales and by the spineless branches. The spines of the barberry are, morphologically, Lvs., and the Lvs. are borne on short branches in their axils (Fig. 538). The stamens are sensitive; when the filaments are touched with a pin, the fls. first open, and the stamens fly forward upon the pistil. Alfred Rehder. The different species of hardy deciduous barberries are excellent decorative shrubs with pleasing habits of growth. The flowers of most of them in spring and early summer, whilst not conspicuous, are very attractive, and the fruits of nearly all are highly ornamental in late summer, fall and early winter on account of their red, dark blue or nearly black color. Berberis amurensis, B. sinensis, B. diaphana, B. Poiretii, B. Regeliana, B. Sieboldii, and B. Thunbergii all assume brilliant fall colors in varying shades of orange and red. Some species, as B. Thunbergii, B. Sieboldii, and B. Rehderiana, retain their bright red fruits unchanged until the following spring, while the fruits of the other species shrivel and dry up during the winter. Berberis aristata is the strongest-growing species and attains a height of 12 to 13 feet in twenty years, with gracefully arching branches, and has violet-red fruits; the thickish leaves are semi-persistent. B. canadensis forms a neat compact bush 3 to 3½ feet with upright spreading branches. The small clusters of bright red fruits are very attractive. This is a rare shrub in cultivation, and B. vulgaris has often been sold for it. B. sinensis is a neat, graceful shrub with pendulous branches 3½ to 4 feet and bears numerous clusters of bright red fruits. B. diaphana forms a dense compact shrub 2½ to 3 feet, but its chief decorative value is in its rich fall coloring, as the solitary flowers and fruits are inconspicuous. B. Regeliana has an upright dense habit, and grows from 5 to 6 feet. It has the largest leaves of any of the deciduous species, and the orange- red fruits are remarkably ornamental throughout late summer and fall, until midwinter. This is perhaps the most beautiful barberry in cultivation. B. Sieboldii is slow-growing, but is a very choice species. The habit is upright and compact, and the fall coloring is brilliant. The small vermilion-red fruit-clusters are very attractive. B. vulgaris, which is commonly grown and has become extensively naturalized, has large clusters of brilliantly colored fruits, and is a most useful shrub in border plantations. It is proli6c in many varieties. Perhaps the most distinctive form is the one with yellow fruits, which are usually seedless, or, if the seeds are present, they are abortive. This species makes a good hedge plant as does also B. amurensis; for low ornamental hedges. B. Thunbergii is excellent. Since it makes a rather broad hedge, the plant is most beautiful when it is not necessary to trim it. B. Wilsonae is a small beautiful shrub, 2 to 2½ feet with slender branches and small leaves. The coral- red fruits are very distinctive. The tips of the branches usually are winterkilled, but the plants recover rapidly in summer. Few of the evergreen species are dependable in the northeastern states. B. Sargentiana, a handsome shrub, attaining a height of about 6 ft., with rather large oblong leaves, has proved quite hardy, and B. buxifolia, B. stenophylla and B. verruculosa nearly hardy in Massachusetts. B. Neubertii rarely has the leaves scorched by winter's cold, but is very slow-growing. For other evergreen species, see Mahonia (formerly included in Berberis). The root and the inner bark of several species are sometimes used for dyeing yellow. Some species have medicinal properties. The fruits of B. vulgaris are made into jelly. In wheat-growing districts, planting of Berberis should be avoided, as it is the host of the aecidium stage of Puccinia graminis, a fungus which causes the wheat-rust. Destroying the Berberis, however, will not check the propagation of the fungus, as it is able to grow and to spread for years without forming the aecidium stage. To secure the best results from most of the barberries, they should be planted in moist, light loam, well drained. The deciduous species, however, can be grown in drier situations. Barberries germinate readily from seeds. The seeds should be separated from the pulp by maceration and sown in "flats" or broadcast in beds in the fall, and they will germinate the following season. The seeds of rare and scarce species should be sown in the greenhouse where they will germinate during the winter. Berberis Wilsonae will germinate in two to three weeks in the greenhouse if sown as soon as ripe. Some of the species cross when grown together, but B. sinensis, B. Regeliana and B. vulgaris appear to come true. The progeny of B. Thunbergii sometimes seem to show that they have been affected by the pollen of B. vulgaris. Most of the barberries can be propagated from the green cuttings of the young wood taken from the first to the middle of June, and placed in sand in a shaded hotbed in precisely the same way as lilacs, viburnums or hydrangeas are treated. This is the best way to perpetuate individuals of strikingly characteristic habits. A very small percentage of the cuttings of the ripe wood placed in the greenhouse in the fall will "strike," but not enough to pay. Some species may be propagated by suckers. Rarer kinds and varieties are sometimes grafted on B. vulgaris or B. Thunbergii, in August or September under glass, or in early spring in the greenhouse. Grafting, however, is not to be recommended, for the stock usually throws up suckers which are often overlooked on account of the similarity of the foliage of many species; they will overgrow the cion in a short time and smother it. A good plan is to use the purple-leaved barberry as a stock; the suckers are thus easily noticeable and may be removed in time. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Read about Berberis in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

B. aggregata, Suppl. List, (page 492). Add as a synonym B. brevipaniculata, Hort., not Schneid.; the true B. brevipaniculata is not in cult. B. Wallichiana, Suppl. List. The species cult. under this name and described here is B. xanthoxylon, Hassk., to which B. Wallichiana var. latifolia, Hort., and also B. Knightii, Hort., B. macrophylla, Hort., and B. Wallichiana, Hort., not DC., must be referred as synonyms. The true B. Wallichiana, DC., has elliptic lvs. of firmer texture and is not in cult., while the true B. Wallichiana var. latifolia, Hook f. & Thoms., belongs as a synonym of B. Hookeri, Lem. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Berberis. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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