Berberis pinnata
Berberis dictyota
California barberry, California Oregon-grape, shiny leaf mahonia
shining netvein barberry
of 2d-year stems grayish brown, glabrous.
of 2d-year stems brown or purple, glabrous.
(3-)5-13-foliolate;
petioles 0.5-4.5(-7.5) cm.
5-7-foliolate;
petioles 0.5-3 cm.
blades thin and ± rigid or flexible;
surfaces abaxially glossy, smooth, adaxially glossy, green;
terminal leaflet stalked, blade 2.6-6.2 × 2-4.5 cm, 1.3-1.9 times as long as wide;
lateral leaflet blades elliptic to ovate or broadly lanceolate, 1(-3)-veined from base, base broadly obtuse, truncate, or weakly cordate, margins plane to crispate, toothed, each with 5-22 teeth 0-2 mm tipped with spines to 1-3 × 0.1-0.3 mm, apex acute to rounded-obtuse.
blades thick and rigid;
surfaces abaxially dull, papillose, adaxially dull, glaucous;
terminal leaflet stalked, rarely sessile in a few leaves, blades 2.2-8.8 × 1.8-6 cm, 1.2-2 times as long as wide;
lateral leaflet blades elliptic to oblong or oblong-ovate, 1-3-veined from base, base obtuse or truncate, margins strongly crispate, toothed, each with 3-8 teeth 2-8 mm tipped with spines to 2-4.8 × 0.4-0.6 mm, apex rounded or obtuse.
absent.
absent.
racemose, dense, 25-50-flowered, 2-9 cm;
bracteoles membranous, apex rounded to broadly acute, sometimes apiculate.
racemose, dense, 25-50-flowered, 3-7 cm;
bracteoles membranous, apex rounded or obtuse.
anther filaments with distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
blue, glaucous, oblong-ovoid to subspheric, 6-7 mm, juicy, solid.
dark blue, at least sometimes glaucous, oblong-ovoid, 6-7 mm, juicy, solid.
scales 3-7 mm, deciduous.
scales 3-5 mm, deciduous.
filaments with distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
= 28.
Berberis pinnata
Berberis dictyota
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Berberis pinnata is very similar to B. aquifolium, and the two are sometimes difficult to separate. Some authors have used the spacing of the lateral leaflets (said to be contiguous or imbricate in B. pinnata and remote in B. aquifolium) to separate them, but the leaflets are often remote in both species and may be contiguous in B. aquifolium.
Berberis pinnata is resistant to infection by Puccinia graminis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Berberis dictyota, B. amplectens, B. pumila, and B. wilcoxii are very similar, and the characters that separate them (height, glossiness and crispation of leaflets, and size and number of marginal teeth) are rather variable within the species. Berberis piperiana also belongs to this group, although it is usually more distinct because of its thinner leaflets with more slender, more numerous marginal spines.
Berberis dictyota is resistant to infection by Puccinia graminis.
Medicinally, the Kawaiisu used a decoction of the root of Berberis dictyota to treat gonorrhea (D. E. Moermann 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Margins of leaf blade undulate or crispate, marginal spines to 1.2-3 × 0.2-0.3 mm; shrubs 0.3-1.6 m, self-supporting. | subsp. pinnata |
1. Margins of leaf blade plane or weakly undulate, marginal spines to 1-1.6 × 0.1- 0.2 mm; shrubs 1-7 m, self-supporting or clambering over surrounding vegetation. | subsp. insularis |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
