Berberidaceae

plant
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://mainten.top/plant/Berberidaceae
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: barberry family

Berberidaceae, the barberry family of the buttercup order (Ranunculales), comprising 14 genera and 701 species of perennial herbs and shrubs. Its members occur in most temperate regions of the world. Many of the shrub forms have spines or spiny-margined leaves. The form of the flower is highly variable.

The most important and largest genus is Berberis, with about 500 species, among which are many ornamentals, including the barberry. Other members of interest include heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), often cultivated as an indoor pot plant; mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), a woodland wildflower; bishop’s hat (Epimedium), a long-lived perennial genus often cultivated as ground cover; twin leaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), a ground cover named for the U.S. president Thomas Jefferson; and Oregon grape (Mahonia), a genus of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.