Berberis glaucocarpa

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Berberis glaucocarpa
Berberis glaucocarpa - Mark - 101297049.jpeg
B. glaucocarpa in Tasman, New Zealand
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Berberidaceae
Genus: Berberis
Species:
B. glaucocarpa
Binomial name
Berberis glaucocarpa

Berberis glaucocarpa, sometimes called common barberry [1] or simply barberry, [2] is a species of flowering plant, a barberry, native to the western Himalaya in central Asia, to west central Nepal. [3] It is considered invasive in New Zealand, where it is found in the North and South Island. [4] [5] [2] It has also been introduced to Great Britain. [3] The species is listed as banned in South Africa. [6]

Contents

Description

This species is glabrous, evergreen, woody, [4] and has thorns. It can grow to up to 7m in height. The leaves have a short petiole. The flowers are yellow and foetid. The berries are reddish-black or purple with white powder on them, with dark red juice. It flowers from October to November in New Zealand, [7] and fruits until February. [2] In Pakistan, it fruits from September through October. [8]

In New Zealand, this species can be distinguished from Darwin's barberry, which has dark purple berries, and European barberry, which has red. [4] The tripartite spines that grow up to 2.5cm long, and the large spiny leaves and the very large possible height are also useful characteristics. [2]

Range and habitat

This barberry can be found in disturbed sights and on forest margins. [4]

The plant was naturalized in New Zealand in 1916, originally as an ornamental plant. [2] It has also been found in Kashmir in Pakistan. [9]

Ecology

This plant is sometimes used as a hedge plant, [4] although it has the potential to spread into fields and deter livestock, and although it may inhibit growth of native plants. [10]

The fruits are spread by birds and mammals, [2] including brush-tailed possums [10] and rodents. [11] [6] The birds which most often spread this plant in New Zealand are themselves exotic frugivores, namely Silvereyes (which self-introduced from Australia), Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, and Common Starling. [10] New Zealand Bellbirds ignore barberry fruits. [12]

Puccinia graminis , a rust fungus, has also been found on this species, during a study to determine fungal pathogens that could be used to control barberry spread in New Zealand. [13]

Goats will eat the plant, if it is up to 2m in height. [14]

Humans in Pakistan also eat the fruit, but only in passing. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Common barberry". Environment Canterbury. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Berberis glaucocarpa". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Berberis glaucocarpa Stapf | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "RNZIH - Horticulture Pages - Weeds - Berberis glaucocarpa - barberry". www.rnzih.org.nz. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "Berberis glaucocarpa Stapf - Flora of New Zealand Series". Flora of New Zealand Series. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 Keet, J (2015). The invasion potential of selected Berberis species in South Africa [Doctoral dissertation]. University of the Free State.
  7. ↑ "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Berberis glaucocarpa". www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  8. 1 2 Ijaz, Shabir; Perveen, Anjum; Ashraf, Saima; Abid, Roohi; Kousar, Shazia; Abbas, Zaheer; Arslan, Muhammad (11 April 2022). "Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants Used by the People of Lawat, District Neelum, Azad Jammu & Kshmir, Pakistan". Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 23: 1–16. doi:10.32859/era.23.24.1-16. ISSN   1547-3465.
  9. ↑ ur Rahman, Saeed; Khan, Shujaul Mulk; Zafar, Muhammad; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Khan, Raees; Hussain, Sajad; Khalid, Muhammad; Kayani, Sadaf‐Ilyas (September 2019). "Pollen morphological variation of Berberis L. from Pakistan and its systematic importance". Microscopy Research and Technique. 82 (9): 1593–1600. doi:10.1002/jemt.23325. ISSN   1059-910X.
  10. 1 2 3 MacFarlane, Archie E.T.; Briskie, James V.; Kelly, Dave (7 April 2025). "Dispersal of invasive Berberis glaucocarpa in secondary forest occurs mainly by exotic frugivores". Notornis. 72 (2): 91. doi:10.63172/140475fiycia. ISSN   1177-7680.
  11. ↑ WILLIAMS, PETER A.; KARL, BRIAN J.; BANNISTER, PETER; LEE, WILLIAM G. (October 2000). "Small mammals as potential seed dispersers in New Zealand". Austral Ecology. 25 (5): 523–532. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2000.tb00057.x. ISSN   1442-9985.
  12. ↑ MacFarlane, Archie; Kelly, Dave; Briskie, James (2016). "Introduced blackbirds and song thrushes: useful substitutes for lost mid-sized native frugivores, or weed vectors?". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 40 (1): 80–87. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.40.9.
  13. ↑ Waipara, N. W.; Smith, L. A.; Gianotti, A. F.; Wilkie, J. P.; Winks, C. J.; McKenzie, E. H. C. (2005). "A survey of fungal plant pathogens associated with weed infestations of barberry (Berberisspp.) in New Zealand and their biocontrol potential". Australasian Plant Pathology. 34 (3): 369. doi:10.1071/ap05049. ISSN   0815-3191.
  14. ↑ Rolston, M.P.; Clark, D.A.; Lambert, M.G. (1983). "Scrub and coarse weed control by goats and sheep: Ballantrae trial". Proceedings, Ruakura Farmers Conference, 1983.
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