Berberis haematocarpa, Woot.[1] with the common names red barberry, red Mexican barbery, Colorado barberry and Mexican barberry, is a species in the Barberry family in southwestern North America.[2] It is also sometimes called algerita,[3] but that name is more often applied to its relative, Mahonia trifoliolata.
| Berberis haematocarpa | |
|---|---|
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| Berberis haematocarpa shoot | |
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| Berberis haematocarpa flower | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Berberidaceae |
| Genus: | Berberis |
| Species: | B. haematocarpa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Berberis haematocarpa Woot.
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| Synonyms | |
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Mahonia haematocarpa (Woot.) Fedde | |
Distribution and habitat
editThe shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico at elevations of 900–2,300 metres (3,000–7,500 ft).[3] It grows on rocky slopes and canyons of mountains, in Pinyon-juniper woodlands, grasslands, and desert chaparral.[3] It is found on slopes and mesas in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Sonora.[2] It is also native to sky island habitats of the Mojave Desert in California and southwestern Nevada.[4]
Description
editBerberis haematocarpa is a shrub growing up to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) tall, with stiff and erect branches.[3]
It has thick, rigid pinnate leaves of several centimeters long. Each is made up of a few thick 3-7 lance-shaped leaflets with very spiny toothed edges. They are a glaucus whitish-gray in color, due to a thick cuticle of wax.[3]
The inflorescences bear 3 to 5 bright yellow flowers, each with nine sepals and six petals all arranged in whorls of three.[3] The plant blooms from February to June.[5]
The fruit is a juicy, edible deep red to purplish-red berry, spherical and up to 8 mm (0.31 in) across.[3][6][7]
Taxonomy
editThe compound leaves place this species in the group sometimes segregated as the genus Mahonia, and classified as Mahonia haematocarpa.[8] [9][7][10][11][12]
Uses
editNative Americans of the Apache tribe used the plant's wood shavings for a yellow dye and as a traditional eye medicine, and it's fresh and preserved fruit for food.[13]
References
edit- ^ Wooton, Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 25: 304. 1898.
- ^ a b "Berberis haematocarpa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Flora of North America @ efloras.org: Berberis haematocarpa
- ^ Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Berberis haematocarpa
- ^ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN): Mahonia haematocarpa (Red barberry, Algerita, Red Oregon-grape)
- ^ Laferriere, J.E. Berberidaceae, Barberry Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 26:2-4. 1992.
- ^ a b Flora of North America vol 3.
- ^ USDA: Mahonia haematocarpa
- ^ NatureServe Explorer.org: Comprehensive Species Report — Mahonia haematocarpa (Woot.) Fedde[permanent dead link]
- ^ Loconte, H., & J. R. Estes. 1989. Phylogenetic systematics of Berberidaceae and Ranunculales (Magnoliidae). Systematic Botany 14:565-579.
- ^ Marroquín, Jorge S., & Joseph E. Laferrière. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 30(1):53-55.
- ^ Laferrière, Joseph E. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Bot. Zhurn. 82(9):96-99.
- ^ University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Berberis haematocarpa
External links
edit- Calflora Database: Berberis haematocarpa (red fruited mahonia)
- UC Photos gallery: Berberis haematocarpa
