Nectar rich flowers attract loads of pollinators. Larval host for the Barberry Geometer Moth (Rheumaptera meadii), the Noctuid moth Mesogona olivata, and the Tissue Moth (Triphosa haesitata).
The berries are edible, often made into preserves. Yellow dye is made from the branches. The bark and wood are made into medicine used internally and externally.
There are 640 species of Berberis found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Berberis is the Latinized form of the Arabic name for the fruit, haematocarpa refers to having blood-red fruits, from the Greek haima, blood, and karpos, fruit. Many species of Berberis formerly known as a species of Mahonia.
The Genus Berberis
Barberry
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Shrubs, often with spinescent leaves, reaching 5-6’ or more (some specimens are almost tree-like). Some species are evergreen, some deciduous. All have yellow flowers that bloom spring into summer, followed by berries that are reddish, sometimes purple.
In the low desert, its a good idea to give these plants afternoon shade in the summer and avoid reflective heat. Once they reach a good size, they can take sun. Moderate to regular water with good drainage. Most are very cold hardy, at least to 15°F, some to well below 0°F.
Fremont Barberry (Berberis fremontii) is a larger barberry that can get 12-15' tall eventually. Found on slopes and flats, often in association with pi-on-juniper from 4,000-7,000' in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Baja California. Photo by Max Licher, SEINET
Red Barberry Berberis haematocarpa is also a bit larger, reaching 8-12' tall. Found on slopes and flats in desert shrublands, grasslands, and oak woodlands, from 3,000-7,500' in Arizona, southern California, New Mexico, western Texas, and in the borderlands of northern Mexico. Photo by Max Licher, SEINET
The Kofa Mountain Barberry (Berberis harrisoniana) is one of the more lower elevation barberries, typically about 5' tall sometimes a little taller. Found in shady spots in rocky canyons, from 2,600- 3,600' in just a few locations in western Arizona and the southern tip of California. Photo by Melanie Davis, iNaturalist
Creeping Mahonia (Berberis repens) is a spreading, low-growing groundcover found in shady areas like under oaks or ponderosa pine and spruce-fir forests, from 5,000-8,500', widespread from the southern borderlands of Canada, throughout western America, and barely into the borderlands of Sonora. Photo by Max Licher, SEINET
Agarita (Berberis trifoliolata) is found in canyons and on slopes, from 5,000-8,000' in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the Southwestern United States, and across northeastern Mexico as far south as Durango and San Luis Potosí. Photo by Patrick Alexander, SEINET
Wilcox's Barberry (Berberis wilcoxii) is a smaller plant, 4-6' tall, found in canyons and on slopes, from 5,000-8,000' entirely in Arizona. Photo by Kenneth Bader, iNaturalist