Japanese barberry: Berberis thunbergii (Ranunculales: Berberidaceae)

Japanese barberry	USDA PLANTS Symbol: BETH U.S. Nativity: Exotic Habit: Shrub
Berberis thunbergii DC.
Japanese barberry is a small deciduous shrub from 2-8 ft. (0.6-2.4 m) tall. The thin, grooved branches have thin, straight spines. The leaves are up to 1 in. (24 mm) long and wedge-shaped. The pale-yellow flowers occur in drooping clusters of 2-5 and develop in mid-spring to early summer. The berries ripen to a bright red color and are 1/4-1/3 in. (7-10 mm) long. Japanese barberry invades a variety of habitats from shaded woodlands to open fields and wetlands. It is very shade-tolerant and can form dense stands which shade out and displace native species. Japanese barberry is rapidly spread by birds that eat the berries thus dispersing the seeds. It is native to Asia and was first introduced into The United States in 1864 as an ornamental. It is still widely planted for landscaping and hedges.

Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

Fact Sheet - Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual - SE-EPPC
Black Stem Rust Quarantine - USDA APHIS PPQ
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England - University of Connecticut
Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service

Selected Images from Invasive.org

View All Images at Invasive.org

Plant(s); September 1997 Jil M. Swearingen, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); April James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); April James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); Purple morph Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Foliage; Britt Slattery, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Stem(s); thorns and stems in April James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Foliage; fall foliage James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Foliage; Britt Slattery, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Foliage; James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Foliage; James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Fruit(s); Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Fruit(s); Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Fruit(s); Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Fruit(s); Barry Rice, sarracenia.com, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Stem(s); April James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; Understory incursion. Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Seed(s); Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; May Steve Manning, Invasive Plant Control, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage

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