Flora of North America species comparison

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Berberis nervosa

Cascade Oregon-grape, dull Oregon-grape, dwarf Oregon-grape, Oregon grape
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.1-0.8(-2) m.
Stems

monomorphic, without short axillary shoots.
Bark

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

9-21-foliolate;

petioles 2-11 cm.
Leaflet

blades thin and ± flexible;

surfaces abaxially rather dull, smooth, adaxially dull, somewhat glaucous;

terminal leaflet stalked, blade 2.9-8.4 × 1.2-4.8 cm, 1.8-3.2 times as long as wide;

lateral leaflet blades lance-ovate to ovate, 4-6-veined from base, base rounded to cordate, margins plane, toothed, each with 6-13 teeth 1-2(-3) mm tipped with spines to 1-2.4 × 0.1-0.2 mm, apex acute or broadly acuminate.
Spines

absent.
Inflorescences

racemose, dense, 30-70-flowered, 6-17 cm;

bracteoles membranous, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded.
Flowers

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
Berries

blue, glaucous, oblong-ovoid or globose, 8-11 mm, juicy, solid.
Bud

scales (13-)20-44 mm, persistent.
2n

= 56.

Berberis nervosa
Phenology Flowering winter–spring (Mar–Jun).
Habitat Open or shaded woods, often in rocky areas
Elevation 0-1800 m [0-5900 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Plants of Berberis nervosa are usually very low (commonly 0.1-0.3 m), but occasional plants may be considerably taller (to 2 m). One such population from north of Westport, California, has been separated as B. nervosa var. mendocinensis. Similar populations occur sporadically throughout the range of B. nervosa, so the form should not be recognized taxonomically.

Berberis nervosa is resistant to infection by Puccinia graminis.

The Skagit tribe used Berberis nervosa medicinally in a root preparation to treat venereal disease (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. canadensis, B. darwinii, B. dictyota, B. fendleri, B. fremontii, B. haematocarpa, B. harrisoniana, B. higginsiae, B. nevinii, B. pinnata, B. piperiana, B. pumila, B. repens, B. swaseyi, B. thunbergii, B. trifoliolata, B. vulgaris, B. wilcoxii
Synonyms B. nervosa var. mendocinensis, Mahonia nervosa, Mahonia nervosa var. mendocinensis
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept., 219. (1814)
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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