Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a deciduous shrub that can grow eight feet tall. It has grooved stems with single or paired thorns in the nodes. Its leaves are ½“ to 1 ½” in length and grow in irregular clusters. In April and May, Japanese barberry produces umbrella-shaped clusters of white flowers on the undersides of its branches. The red, oblong fruit are produced in September.
The bright red berries of this thorny shrub are especially striking this time of year, after the leaves have fallen from the surrounding trees. Once established, Japanese barberry, an invasive species, can quickly take over a forest understory, creating a monoculture that prevents native plant growth and provides safe harbor for mice, which can carry ticks with Lyme disease.
Forests invaded with Japanese barberry have been documented to contain up to 10 times the quantity of Lyme infected ticks as a similar uninvaded forest.
Japanese barberry arrived in the United States in 1875 when it was shipped from Russia to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University.
Avoid planting Japanese barberry and hand-pull any occurrences of the plant on your property.
If you think you spot Japanese barberry growing somewhere, report it on iMapinvasives.
Learn more about Japanese Barberry here.
Illustrations, from above: Japanese Barberry fruit (photo by Grayson Co); and Japanese barberry leaves.
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