Flora of North America species comparison

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Berberis nervosa

Berberis trifoliolata

Cascade Oregon-grape, dull Oregon-grape, dwarf Oregon-grape, Oregon grape

agarito, agritos, algerita, currant-of-Texas
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.1-0.8(-2) m. Shrubs, evergreen, 1-3.5 m.
Stems

monomorphic, without short axillary shoots.

± dimorphic, with elongate primary and short axillary shoots.
Bark

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

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

9-21-foliolate;

petioles 2-11 cm.

3-foliolate;

petioles 0.8-5.4 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.

blades thick and rigid;

surfaces abaxially dull, papillose, adaxially dull, ± glaucous;

terminal leaflet sessile, blade 2.3-5.8 × 0.9-2 cm, 1.6-3.1 times as long as wide;

lateral leaflet blades narrowly lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 1-veined from base, base acute or acuminate, rarely rounded-acute, margins plane, toothed or lobed, with 1-3 teeth or lobes 3-7 mm high tipped with spines to 1-2 × 0.2-0.3 mm, apex narrowly acute or acuminate.
Spines

absent.

absent.
Inflorescences

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

bracteoles membranous, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded.

racemose, lax, 1-8-flowered, 0.5-3 cm;

bracteoles membranous, apex acuminate.
Flowers

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
Berries

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

red, sometimes glaucous, spheric, 6-11 mm, juicy, solid.
Bud

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

scales 2-3 mm, deciduous.
2n

= 56.

Berberis nervosa

Berberis trifoliolata
Phenology Flowering winter–spring (Mar–Jun). Flowering winter–spring (Feb–Apr).
Habitat Open or shaded woods, often in rocky areas Slopes and flats in grassland, shrubland, and sometimes open woodland
Elevation 0-1800 m (0-5900 ft) 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; n Mexico
[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.)

The illegitimate name Berberis trifoliolata Moricand var. glauca (I. M. Johnston) M. C. Johnston has been used for plants with very strongly glaucous leaves. Weakly and strongly glaucous plants are often found in the same population, however, indicating that they are not distinct varieties.

Berberis trifoliolata is susceptible to infection by Puccinia graminis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Berberidaceae > Berberis 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
B. amplectens, B. aquifolium, B. bealei, B. canadensis, 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. vulgaris, B. wilcoxii
Synonyms B. nervosa var. mendocinensis, Mahonia nervosa, Mahonia nervosa var. mendocinensis Mahonia trifoliolata
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept., 219. (1814) Moricand: Pl. Nouv. Amér., 113. (1841)
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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