Common Name: BARBERRY FAMILY Habit: Perennial herb, shrub, [tree], generally rhizomed, caudexed or not, glabrous, glaucous, or hairy. Stem: spreading to erect, branched or not. Leaf: simple, 1--3-ternate, or pinnately compound, basal and cauline, generally alternate, deciduous or evergreen, petioled, stipuled. Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, or panicle, scapose, terminal, or axillary. Flower: generally bisexual, radial; sepals 6--18 or 0, generally in whorls of 3; petals generally 6, in 2 whorls of 3, or 0; stamens 6--12(13), free or fused at base, in 2 whorls or not, anthers dehiscent by flap-like valves or longitudinal slits; ovary superior, chamber 1, ovules generally 1--10, style 1 or 0, stigma flat or spheric. Fruit: berry, capsule, achene [follicle]. Genera In Family: 16 genera, +- 670 species: temperate, tropics worldwide; some cultivated (Berberis, Epimedium, Nandina (heavenly bamboo), Vancouveria). Note: Lower sepals sometimes called "bracteoles," inner petals "staminodes". eFlora Treatment Author: Michael P. Williams Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Common Name: OREGON-GRAPE, BARBERRY Habit: Shrub, generally rhizomed. Stem: spreading to erect, branched, spiny or not, vine-like or not; inner bark, wood generally bright yellow; over-wintering bud scales deciduous or not. Leaf: simple or pinnately compound, cauline, alternate, generally leathery, generally persistent; leaflets generally 3--11, +- round to lanceolate, generally spine-toothed. Inflorescence: raceme, axillary or terminal. Flower: sepals 9 in 3 whorls of 3; petals 6 in 2 whorls of 3, bases generally glandular; stamens 6; ovules 2--9, stigma +- spheric. Fruit: berry, spheric to elliptic, generally purple-black. Etymology: (Latin: ancient Arabic name for barberry) Toxicity: Roots often TOXIC: spines may inject fungal spores into skin. Note: Contact with filament causes stamen to snap inward, possibly to deposit pollen on pollinator. Reference: Kim 2004 J Pl Res 117:175--182 Unabridged Reference: Moran 1982 Phytologia 52:221--226, for relationship between Berberis, Mahonia.
Berberis nervosa Pursh
NATIVE Stem: generally spreading to erect, 0.1--0.6(2) m; bud scales 15--45 mm, lanceolate, thick, persistent among upper leaves. Leaf: +- crowded distally, 12--45 cm; petiole generally 2--7 cm; leaflets 7--23, terminal 2.5--8 cm, 1.5--3 cm wide, lanceolate to ovate, flat, base +- oblique to rounded, tip acute, margin serrate, spines 10--24 per side, 1--2 mm. Inflorescence: 4--15 cm, +- open; axis internodes 2--8 mm, 4--10 mm in fruit; flowers > 20. Fruit: 8--12 mm diam, ovoid to obovoid, subglaucous, blue-purple. Seed: 4--6 mm. Chromosomes: 2n=56. Ecology: Conifer forest; Elevation: < 2000 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, n SNH (Sierra Co.), SnFrB, n SCoR; Distribution Outside California: to British Columbia, Idaho. Flowering Time: Mar--Jun Synonyms: Mahonia nervosa (Pursh) Nutt. var. mendocinensis (Roof) Roof Jepson eFlora Author: Michael P. Williams Reference: Kim 2004 J Pl Res 117:175--182 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Berberis higginsiae Next taxon: Berberis nevinii
Citation for this treatment: Michael P. Williams 2012, Berberis nervosa, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=15594, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Berberis nervosa:
NW, n SNH (Sierra Co.), SnFrB, n SCoR
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
MAP LEGEND View all CCH records All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
