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 February 09, 2025.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on February 09, 2025.
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 occurrence).
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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.
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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).