Berberis pumila
Gerald D. Carr

Flora of Oregon

Shrubs 1–4 dm.

Stems monomorphic, without short axillary shoots, twigs glabrous; bud scales 3–6 mm, deciduous; spines absent.

Leaves compound; leaflets 3–9, thick and rigid, dull and papillose abaxially, dull and glaucous adaxially; terminal leaflet 4.0–8.0 × 2.0–5.0 cm, 1.3–1.9 × as long as wide; lateral leaflets ovate to oblong-ovate or elliptic, 1(3)-veined from base, bases obtuse (rarely truncate), margins plane or undulate, each margin with 2–10 1–3 mm teeth, tipped with 1.6–3.0 × 0.3–0.4(0.5) mm spines, tips obtuse or rounded (rarely broadly acuminate) in outline; petioles 0.5–4 cm.

Inflorescences 30–45-flowered, 2–4 cm; bracts rounded or obtuse, sometimes apiculate.

Stamens filaments with a distal pair of recurved teeth.

Fruits oblong-ovoid to globose, 5–8 mm, dark blue, glaucous.

Open woods, shrublands, rocky or gravelly areas. Flowering Mar–Jun. 400–1600 m. Sisk. CA. Native.

Flora of North America

as described under Berberis pumila

Shrubs , evergreen, 0.1-0.4 m. Stems monomorphic, without short axillary shoots. Bark of 2d-year stems gray-brown or purplish, glabrous. Bud scales 3-6 mm, deciduous. Spines absent. Leaves 3-9-foliolate; petioles 0.5-4 cm. Leaflet blades thick and rigid; surfaces abaxially dull, papillose, adaxially dull, glaucous; terminal leaflet stalked, at least on most leaves, blade 4-8 × 2-5 cm, 1.3-1.9 times as long as wide; lateral leaflet blades ovate to oblong-ovate or elliptic, 1(-3)-veined from base, base obtuse, rarely truncate, margins plane or undulate, toothed, with 2-10 teeth 1-3 mm tipped with spines to 1.6-3 - 0.3-0.4(-0.5) mm, apex obtuse or rounded, rarely broadly acuminate. Inflorescences racemose, dense, 30-45-flowered, 2-4 cm; bracteoles membranous, apex rounded or obtuse, sometimes apiculate. Flowers: anther filaments with distal pair of recurved lateral teeth. Berries dark blue, glaucous, oblong-ovoid to spheric, 5-8 mm, juicy, solid. 2 n = 28.Flowering winter-spring (Mar-May). Open woods and rocky areas; 300-1200 m; Calif., Oreg.Berberis pumila is resistant to infection by Puccinia graminis .

Photo images

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Herbarium specimens

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