Flora of North America species comparison

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Berberis thunbergii

Japanese barberry
Habit Shrubs, deciduous, 0.3-3 m. Stems dimorphic, with short axillary shoots.
Bark

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

blade obovate to spatulate, 1-veined from base, (0.5-)1.2-2.4 × 0.3-1(-1.8) cm, thin and flexible, base long-attenuate, margins plane, entire, apex rounded or obtuse;

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

present, simple or 3-fid.
Inflorescences

umbellate, 1-5-flowered, 1-1.5 cm;

bracteoles membranous, apex acute.
Flowers

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
Berries

red, ellipsoid or spheric, (7-)9-10 mm, juicy, solid.
Bud

scales 1-2 mm, deciduous.

Berberis thunbergii
Phenology Flowering late winter–spring (Mar–May).
Habitat Woods, old fields, roadsides
Elevation 0-1300 m (0-4300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SD; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; NB; NS; ON; PE; native; Asia (Japan) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists Berberis thunbergii as resistant to infection by Puccinia graminis, and the species is widely grown as an ornamental in the United States. Preliminary tests carried out by Agriculture Canada, however, suggest that some strains may be susceptible to Puccinia graminis infection, and cultivation of B. thunbergii is illegal in Canada.

(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. nervosa, B. nevinii, B. pinnata, B. piperiana, B. pumila, B. repens, B. swaseyi, B. trifoliolata, B. vulgaris, B. wilcoxii
Name authority de Candolle: Syst. Nat. 2: 19. (1821)
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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