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Berberis chrysosphaera Mulligan

Modern name

Berberis chrysosphaera Mulligan

A dwarf evergreen shrub; young shoots glabrous, tinged red, slightly grooved, armed with slender, three-pronged spines up to 12 in. long. Leaves mostly oblanceolate but also narrowly oval, 12 to 112 in. long, 16 to 12 in. wide, borne in clusters of three to seven in the axils of the spines, dark glossy green above, white beneath, margined with slender teeth. Flowers yellow, 12 in. wide, borne singly from the axils of the clustered leaves in April and May, each on a slender stalk about 1 in. long. Fruits erect, blue-violet.

Native of S. Tibet, discovered and introduced by Kingdon Ward in 1933-4. It is closely related to B. candidula but has not the very distinctive close, compact, hemispherical shape of that species. It is an attractive plant for the rock garden or where space is restricted, and is quite hardy.


Genus

Berberis

Other species in the genus