This European barberry is a broad deciduous shrub in the Berberaceae family native to Africa and Eurasia that has become naturalized in the United States, to the extent that it has become quite weedy. The plant is often found growing in woodlands, as a hedge, or along roadsides. It prefers a sunny position in moist loamy soils, but can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. It also tolerates semi-shade (light woodland) and dry or moist soil, but requires moist soil when grown in shade of trees. European barberry is very tolerant of pruning. It is in leaf from early spring to late fall and the seeds ripen in the fall. The tiny yellow flowers appear in late spring to early summer and have an unpleasant odor. It has three-parted spines at the base of the leaves. Please consider native shrubs instead. See some alternatives listed to the left. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It is listed as an invasive plant in several regions of the United States. It is a host plant for wheat rust. As the most important alternate host of this fungus, it has been the subject of vigorous eradication programs, and it is now infrequent or absent in many areas where it was once frequent VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee. More information on Berberis .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Broad; Erect
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblanceolate; Obovate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf value
Long-lasting
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Oval, 1 to 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide with serrate margins, clustered in groups of 2 to 5. Leaves simple, obovate to oblanceolate or almost elliptic, 1-veined from base, thin and flexible, margins plane, finely serrate and tipped with spines or bristles. Surfaces are smooth.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Tiny yellow flowers in late spring to early summer with an unpleasant fragrance. Inflorescences racemose with 10 to 20 flowers.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Red ellipsoids 1/3 of an inch with 1 to 3 small black seeds. Berries red or purple, juicy and solid
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
Bark of 2d-year stems gray, glabrous.
Stem detail
Stems dimorphic, with long primary and short axillary shoots.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Centrall and Southern Europe to Iran
Distribution
Naturalized in Northern Europe, Canada, and United States south to North Carolina.
Wildlife value
Fruits are eaten and spread by birds and small mammals.