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Berberis calliantha Mulligan

Modern name

Berberis calliantha Mulligan

An evergreen shrub of dwarf, compact growth, up to 3 ft high; shoots angled, armed with triple spines. Leaves elliptic or inclined to oval, 1 to 212 in. long, 12 to 34 in. wide, pointed, cuneate at the base, margins spiny-toothed, dark glossy green above, waxy white beneath; stalk 110 to 15 in. long. Flowers borne either solitary, in pairs, or in threes on short shoots bearing a terminal cluster of leaves, each up to 1 in. across, pale to creamy yellow. Fruits egg-shaped to nearly oblong, up to about 58 in. long by 25 in. wide, blue-black but covered with a grey-white bloom.

Native of S.E. Tibet, discovered and introduced by Kingdon Ward in 1924. It belongs to the Wallichiana section of the genus which is commonly represented in gardens by B. hookeri. It flowers in May and is well marked by its large flowers and dwarf habit (Kingdon Ward found it ‘growing in masses 1 ft high’). It was given an Award of Merit at Vincent Square, 19th May 1942.

B. × bristolensis Ahrendt – A hybrid of B. calliantha, the other parent being in all probability B. verruculosa, which it resembles in having warty stems and solitary flowers. In leaf it is nearer to the first-named parent.


Berberis calliantha

Berberis calliantha

Genus

Berberis

Other species in the genus