Seasonal Wild Flowers

Hedge Barberry

Berberis darwinii x B. empetrifolia (B. x stenophylla)

Berberidaceae

March to May - but I have seen the flowers opening in January.

Naturalised escapes are thinly scattered throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Hedge Barberry

It is a neophyte and a hybrid. It arose in the North in the mid

1800s and is widely planted in gardens, amenity areas and

parks.

It has been known in the wild since the 1930s and escapes

grow in hedges and by roads and paths.

Hedge Barberry is a frost-hardy, spiny, evergreen shrub,

growing up to 3m.

Leaves are narrower and spinier than Barberry.

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Flowers and leaves

Flower group

Flowers and immature berries

Ripe berries