Berberis francisci -ferdinandii Schneid.

Modern name

Berberis francisci -ferdinandi C.K.Schneid.

An elegant deciduous shrub of rounded form up to 9 or 10 ft high; young shoots angled (especially vigorous virgin shoots), purplish; spines single on weak shoots, three-pronged and 11⁄2 in. long on strong ones. Leaves obovate, oval, or oval-lanceolate, pointed, always tapering at the base to a stalk 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in. long, finely toothed, 3⁄4 to 21⁄2 in. long. Flowers yellow, 1⁄3 in. wide, produced in June on slender drooping racemes or panicles 3 to 5 in. long; individual flower-stalks 1⁄8 to 1⁄3 in. long. Fruit oval, 3⁄8 to 1⁄2 in. long, scarlet, two-seeded, borne as many as fifty on a panicle. Bot. Mag., t. 9281.

Native of W. China; introduced by Wilson in 1900. Amongst the numerous species from the same region this is recognisable by the slender inflorescence (the slenderness due to the shortness of the flower-stalks) and the large pendulous bunches of scarlet berries. It is one of the most handsome of barberries, quite hardy and a good grower.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

The inflorescence in this species is not fully paniculate; basically it is a raceme in which the lowermost pedicels are branched, each branch bearing a flower. The taxonomic position of this species, one of the handsomest of the deciduous sorts, is uncertain, and it is possibly a natural hybrid.

Genus

Berberis

Other species in the genus

Modern name

Some names used by Bean have now been superseded and are no longer familiar. To ensure that all plants can be easily found, under any name, we have cross-referenced to The Plant List, a collaboration between RBG Kew, Missouri Botanical Gardens and other organisations, which aims to provide a currently accepted name for any plant. Not all taxonomists will agree with all Plant List nomenclature, but it provides a baseline to compare names. For each species above, clicking on the Modern Name will link to the entry for that name on The Plant List website.