Berberis darwinii Berberidacae
Darwin Barberry BER-ber-is dar-WIN-e-i
- Broadleaf evergreen shrub, 5-10 ft (1.5-3 m) high, 4-7 ft (1.2-2.1m) wide, broadly arching (fountain-like), densely branched, 3-7 parted thorns; spreads by underground runners. Leaves alternate, simple, small, to 2-2.5 cm, stiff, holly-like, ending in 1-6 spiny teeth, shiny dark green above, pale yellow-green beneath. Flowers showy, abundant, bright yellow-orange tinged with red, in 10 cm clusters, appear on reddened stalks in spring. Fruit blue, dark purple or plum red, round, waxy, 6 mm long.
- Sun to part shade. Average well-drained soil. Spreads by underground runners to form a thicket.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 7 Native to Chile and Argentina.
- darwinii: after Charles Darwin, who discovered it in 1835, during the voyage of the Beagle. Apparently not grown in the eastern U.S.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: northeast corner of Gilkey (Social Science).