Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Print Fact Sheet

Berberis vulgaris

Common name

Common Barberry, Barberry

Family

Berberidaceae

Where found

Weed. Southern Highlands mainly between Mittagong and Bundanoon. Kosciuszko National Park. Occasionally elsewhere.

Notes

Introduced deciduous shrub to 2.5 m high. Leaves on the main stems reduced to spines, usually deeply divided into 3 spines, each 10–25 mm long. Fruit fleshy. Stems hairless. Leaves clustered on short shoots, 2–6 cm long, 8–25 mm wide, margins toothed with numerous bristly teeth. Flowers yellow, about 5 mm in diameter, with 6-12 petals in 2 or 3 whorls. Flowers in many-flowered clusters 5–7 cm long. Fruit bright red, oblong to oval, 9–12 mm long, edible.

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