Japanese Barberry

Berberis thunbergii

Form: Small, spiny shrub with a round dense crown, .5 to 1.5 meters tall.

Text Box: Form: Small, spiny shrub with a round dense crown, .5 to 1.5 meters tall.

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Leaf: Alternate, simple leaves 1 to 3 cm long with entire margin. Shape is variable from spatulate or obovate. Color is bright green above, paler and somewhat glaucous below turning reddish to purple in the autumn.

Text Box: Leaf: Alternate, simple leaves 1 to 3 cm long with entire margin. Shape is variable from spatulate or obovate. Color is bright green above, paler and somewhat glaucous below turning reddish to purple in the autumn.

Bark: Gray brown, finely shreddy

Twig: Slender, angled or grooved and zigzagged pattern. Color is purplish brown. Buds small and ovoid and thorns at each node. Inner bark is yellow.

Text Box: Twig: Slender, angled or grooved and zigzagged pattern. Color is purplish brown. Buds small and ovoid and thorns at each node. Inner bark is yellow.

Flower: Pale yellow and perfect about 1 cm across, appear solitary or in small clusters of 2 to 4. Appearing in April to May.

Fruit: Shiny red, egg shaped berry, 1 cm long, ripening in the fall and persisting into the next spring. Appearing in September

Text Box: Other: Native to Japan and planted in many caltivars as an ornamental hedge in the United States. This plant is currently naturalized in open areas and disturbed forests. While it is moderately shade tolerant it prefers full sunlight. Also flowers will shut if the center is touched

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