Scientific Name:
Berberis thunbergii
Pronunciation:
BUR-bur-iss THOON-burg-ee-eye
Common Name:
Japanese barberry
Family Name:
Berberidaceae
Plant Type:
Shrub - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Deciduous barberry 1-2m tall; leaves alternate, simple, clustered, most blades obovate to spatulate, 1.4-3(-5)cm long x 0.7-2.4cm wide, margins entire; florets yellow, about 1cm wide; berries red, ellipsoid, about 6-8mm long x 3-4mm wide. Winter ID: single spiny stipule 5-11mm long at each node (usually unbranched); buds globular, about 8-10mm wide, in tight clusters; leaf scars small, crecent shaped; persistent red oval berries.
Habit:
Dense, Spreading
Form:
Round
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
1.3 - 2.0m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (Japan)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry
Landscape Uses:
Accent plant, Group or mass planting, Hedge row, Security/barrier, Sheared hedge
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivars shown or on campus may include : B. 'Golden Nugget' (light green dwarf) and B. 'Monry', as well as several B. var. atropurpurea cultivars including B. 'Crimson Velvet', B. 'Golden Ring' (or B. 'Cherry Bomb'?), and B. 'Concorde'.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Leathery, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Green, Green-yellow, Yellow, Dark-red
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Red
Shapes:
Obovate, Spatulate
Apices:
Obtuse, Rounded
Bases:
Attenuate, Cuneate
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Borne in alternate clusters along branches
Inflorescence Type:
Corymb
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
6
Corolla Shape:
Campanulate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Yellow, Red
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun
Additional Info:
For most red cultivars, the 6 sepals are (in part) dark red with 3 large and 3 smaller ones; 2 to 5 florets; umbel-like
Fruit Type:
Berry (true)
Fruit Colour:
Red
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Persistent
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured, Multi-stem trunk
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey, Brown
Leaf Bud Type:
Accessory (collateral), Ovoid
Leaf Scar Shape:
Round
Organ Modifications:
Stipule, pointy spines
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant, Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 1 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (BKW) Boulevard Kwantlen Way : cvs. Cherry Bomb, Golden Nugget
- (CGW) Community Garden West : cv. Crimson Violet
- (HPZ) Horticulture PlaZa
- (ONE) Overpass North side East : cv. Concorde
- (ONW) Overpass North side West : cv. Rose Glow