Berberis lycioides Stapf

TSO logo

Sponsor this page

For information about how you could sponsor this page, see How You Can Help

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Berberis lycioides' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/berberis/berberis-lycioides/). Accessed 2024-11-02.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
axillary
Situated in an axil.
bloom
Bluish or greyish waxy substance on leaves or fruits.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
compound
Made up or consisting of two or more similar parts (e.g. a compound leaf is a leaf with several leaflets).
cuneate
Wedge-shaped.
entire
With an unbroken margin.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
hybrid
Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).
monograph
Taxonomic account of a single genus or family.
mucro
Short straight point. mucronate Bearing a mucro.
oblanceolate
Inversely lanceolate; broadest towards apex.
ovoid
Egg-shaped solid.
simple
(of a leaf) Unlobed or undivided.
terete
Like a slender tapering cylinder.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Berberis lycioides' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/berberis/berberis-lycioides/). Accessed 2024-11-02.

A semi-deciduous, entirely glabrous shrub up to 10 ft, shoots terete, armed with simple and three-pronged spines up to 34 in. long. Leaves in axillary clusters of four to six, up to 212 in. long, 12 to 34 in. wide, narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, the base cuneate, the apex shortly tapered to a small mucro; margins sparsely spiny to entire; slightly glaucous beneath. Flowers in two whorls of three, yellow, 25 in. wide, borne in pendulous racemes or sometimes panicles 212 to 312 in. long; calyx of three whorls of sepals. Fruits ovoid to ovoid-oblong, 38 in. long, black-purple, but coated freely with a blue-white, waxy bloom. Bot. Mag., t. 9102.

Native of the N.W. Himalaya. It has been in cultivation since the early nineteenth century, but under other names such as B. aristata. It is hardy and beautiful both in flower and fruit.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

When the eighth edition was being prepared, a slip in Mr Bean’s description was overlooked. It is not the flowers that are in two whorls of three but their petals, as is usual in the genus. Nor is it really correct to say that B. lycioides is a native of the north-west Himalaya. It was described by Dr Stapf from a plant raised by J. S. Gamble from seeds collected in the Himalaya, probably in the Dehra Dun district, and was thought by Stapf to be a natural hybrid between B. lycium and B. glaucocarpa. It is obviously distinct from the latter in its drooping inflorescences and more elongate fruits. It is not, however, so clearly distinct from B. lycium, the differences given by Stapf being that the flowers and fruits are larger, and that the inflorescences are sometimes compound at the base.

In his monograph, Dr Ahrendt pointed out that the name B. lycioides for this berberis is illegitimate, having been applied earlier to other species. The substitute name B. ahrendtii Rao & Uniyal (1985) is available, but it seems pointless to adopt it so long as the taxonomic position of this berberis is in doubt.