Flora of North America species comparison

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Berberis trifoliolata

Berberis nervosa

agarito, agritos, algerita, currant-of-Texas

Cascade Oregon-grape, dull Oregon-grape, dwarf Oregon-grape, Oregon grape
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 1-3.5 m. Stems ± dimorphic, with elongate primary and short axillary shoots. Shrubs, evergreen, 0.1-0.8(-2) m. Stems monomorphic, without short axillary shoots.
Bark

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

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

3-foliolate;

petioles 0.8-5.4 cm.

9-21-foliolate;

petioles 2-11 cm.
Leaflet

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.

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.

absent.
Inflorescences

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

bracteoles membranous, apex acuminate.

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.

anther filaments without distal pair of recurved lateral teeth.
Berries

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

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

scales 2-3 mm, deciduous.

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

= 56.

Berberis trifoliolata

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

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.)

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. 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. nervosa, B. nevinii, B. pinnata, B. piperiana, B. pumila, B. repens, B. swaseyi, B. thunbergii, 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. nevinii, B. pinnata, B. piperiana, B. pumila, B. repens, B. swaseyi, B. thunbergii, B. trifoliolata, B. vulgaris, B. wilcoxii
Synonyms Mahonia trifoliolata B. nervosa var. mendocinensis, Mahonia nervosa, Mahonia nervosa var. mendocinensis
Name authority Moricand: Pl. Nouv. Amér., 113. (1841) 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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