Flora of North America species comparison

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Berberis canadensis

Allegheny barberry, American barberry
Habit Shrubs, deciduous, 0.4-2 m.
Stems

dimorphic, with long primary shoots and short axillary shoots.
Bark

of 2d-year stems purple or brown, glabrous.
Leaves

blade oblanceolate or sometimes narrowly elliptic, 1-veined from base, 1.8-7.5 × 0.8-3.3 cm, thin and flexible, base long-attenuate, margins plane, toothed, each with 3-12 teeth 0-1 mm high tipped with bristles to 0.2-1.2 × 0.1-0.15 mm, apex rounded or rounded-obtuse;

surfaces abaxially dull, smooth, adaxially dull, ± glaucous.
Spines

present, simple or 3(-7)-fid.
Inflorescences

racemose, lax, 3-12-flowered, 2-5.5 cm;

bracteoles membranous, apex acuminate.
Flowers

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
Berries

red, oblong-ellipsoid, 10 mm, juicy, solid.
Bud

scales 1-1.5 mm, deciduous.
2n

= 28.

Berberis canadensis
Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–May).
Habitat In woods or glades, on rocky slopes and near rivers
Elevation 100-700 m (300-2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; GA; IL; IN; KY; MD; MO; NC; PA; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Berberis canadensis is susceptible to infection by Puccinia graminis.

The Cherokee Indians used scraped bark of Berberis canadensis in infusions to treat diarrhea (D. E. Moermann 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Berberidaceae > Berberis
Sibling taxa
B. amplectens, B. aquifolium, B. bealei, B. darwinii, B. dictyota, B. fendleri, B. fremontii, B. haematocarpa, B. harrisoniana, B. higginsiae, B. nervosa, B. nevinii, B. pinnata, B. piperiana, B. pumila, B. repens, B. swaseyi, B. thunbergii, B. trifoliolata, B. vulgaris, B. wilcoxii
Name authority Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Berberis no. 2. (1768)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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