Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Berberis aquifolium

Common name

Oregon Grape, Mountain Grape, Oregon Barberry, Oregon Grapeholly, Jaundice Berry, Woodsour, Sowberry, Pepperidge Bush, Sourspine, Tall Oregon Grape

Family

Berberidaceae

Where found

Grassy areas, disturbed sites, gullies, and along streams. Has the potential to invade forest habitats. Mainly ACT. Occasionally elsewhere.

Notes

Introduced evergreen shrub to 3 m high, suckering. Leaf margins with spiny teeth. Fruit fleshy. Branchlets hairless. Leaves clustered on short shoots, mostly 15–40 cm long, compound, with 3–19 leaflets, the basal pair often smaller and more or less stipule-like. Leaflets 3–14 cm long, 10–60 mm wide, hairless. Flowers yellow, 7–12 mm in diameter, with 6-12 petals in 2 or 3 whorls. Flowers in about 3–60-flowered elongated clusters 3–19 cm long. Flowering: Spring. Fruit waxy blue to bluish black, round, 6–9 mm long.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Berberis~aquifolium (accessed 4 January, 2021)