The colors below indicate the kind of documentation available for this species
in the California counties where it occurs.
Barberry Berberis nervosa (Berberidaceae)
From a simple erect stem arises a cluster of leaves and fascicles of bright yellow flowers. Each leathery leaf consists of the rachis, or central axis, with prickly leaflets on either side. When you encounter one along shaded slopes in conifer forests check the flowers with a hand lens. You will see six sepals, six petals, and six stamens that dehisce by two uplifting flaps, all of which surround the single chambered ovary that matures into a blue berry with a gray bloom.
DISTRIBUTION: Coniferous forests from NW Calif and the northern Sierra Nevada to the San Francisco Bay Area and South Coast Ranges; < 2000 m.
