Berberis pinnata |
Berberis pinnata subsp. insularis |
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California barberry, California Oregon-grape, shiny leaf mahonia |
island barberry |
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Habit | Shrubs, evergreen, 0.3-1.6(-7) m. Stems usually monomorphic, seldom with short axillary shoots. | Shrubs, self-supporting or clambering, 1-7 m. Leaflets thin and flexible; lateral leaflet blades lance-oblong or elliptic, margins plane or weakly undulate, marginal teeth tipped with spines to 1-1.6 × 0.1-0.2 mm. | ||||
Bark | of 2d-year stems grayish brown, glabrous. |
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Leaves | (3-)5-13-foliolate; petioles 0.5-4.5(-7.5) cm. |
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Leaflet | 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. |
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Spines | absent. |
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Inflorescences | racemose, dense, 25-50-flowered, 2-9 cm; bracteoles membranous, apex rounded to broadly acute, sometimes apiculate. |
6-9 cm. |
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Berries | blue, glaucous, oblong-ovoid to subspheric, 6-7 mm, juicy, solid. |
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Bud | scales 3-7 mm, deciduous. |
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Anther | filaments with distal pair of recurved lateral teeth. |
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Berberis pinnata |
Berberis pinnata subsp. insularis |
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Phenology | Flowering winter (Mar). | |||||
Habitat | In shade beneath trees, pine and pine-oak forest | |||||
Elevation | 100-450 m (300-1500 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA |
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Discussion | 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.) |
Of conservation concern. Berberis pinnata subsp. insularis is endemic to the Channel Islands. Specimens of B. pinnata from the coast north of Santa Barbara often show some characteristics of subsp. insularis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. | ||||
Parent taxa | Berberidaceae > Berberis | Berberidaceae > Berberis > Berberis pinnata | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Mahonia pinnata | |||||
Name authority | Lagasca: Elench. Pl., 14. (1816) | Munz: Aliso 2: 230. (1950) | ||||
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