Berberis wilsonae
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Deciduous shrub to about 2 m high. leaves are sessile and up to 3 x 1 cm, 3-partite spines held just below the leaves. The leaves can be green to red in exposed plants. pale yellow flowers are held in dense racemes of 10-20. Fruit starts translucent but ripens to deep red 5-9 mm diameter with grey bloom.
Similar taxa
Similar in general appearance to B. thunbergii, but can be distinguished by the 3-partite spines. Also similar to B. vulgaris but lacks the obvious leaf veination and serrulate leaf margins.
Habitat
Waste places near cultivation
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Ecology
Flowering
December, January, February
Fruiting
June, July, August
Year naturalised
1983
Origin
S.W. China, upper Burma
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduces b suckering and seed (copious seed produced). Seed dispersed by birds.
Other information
Etymology
berberis: From the Arabic name berberys