Species

Berberis vulgaris

Etymology

Berberis: From the Arabic name berberys

Common Name(s)

European barbery

Family

Berberidaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

BERVUL

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Features

Small deciduous shrub to about 2m. Spines generally 3-partite. Petiole to about 1 cm lamina up to 8 x 2.5 cm, but generally much smaller than this. Leaves with obvious veins and serrulate margins. Medium yellow flowers in racemes. Berries ripening to crimson-scarlet, oblong and up to 11 mm long.

Similar Taxa

Similar in general appearance to B. wilsonae, but B. vulgaris has petiolate leaves, with obvious veination and serrulate margins.

Flowering

October, November

Flower Colours

Yellow

Year Naturalised

1875

Origin

Europe

Reproduction
Seed and suckering.

Seed
prolific.

Dispersal
Birds, people

This page last updated on 18 Jan 2010