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Berberis (Bér-be-ris
Syllable stress of Botanical Latin

Syllable stress of botanical names varies with the language spoken by the person using the botanical name. In English-speaking countries the Botanical Latin places syllable stress for botanical names derived from ancient Greek and Latin broadly according to two systems, either the Reformed academic pronunciation, or the pronunciation develop...
, barberry, pepperidge bush) a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 450-500 species of deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 and evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. They are closely related to the genus Mahonia
Mahonia

Mahonia is a genus of about 70 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalayas, North America and Central America....
, which is included within Berberis by some botanists.

genus is characterised by dimorphic shoots, with long shoots which form the structure of the plant, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long.






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Berberis (Bér-be-ris
Syllable stress of Botanical Latin

Syllable stress of botanical names varies with the language spoken by the person using the botanical name. In English-speaking countries the Botanical Latin places syllable stress for botanical names derived from ancient Greek and Latin broadly according to two systems, either the Reformed academic pronunciation, or the pronunciation develop...
, barberry, pepperidge bush) a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 450-500 species of deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 and evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. They are closely related to the genus Mahonia
Mahonia

Mahonia is a genus of about 70 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalayas, North America and Central America....
, which is included within Berberis by some botanists.

The plant

The genus is characterised by dimorphic shoots, with long shoots which form the structure of the plant, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 on long shoots are non-photosynthetic, developed into three-spined thorn
Spine (biology)

In biology, spine or spiny may refer to:*Spine , needle-like structures in plants*Spine , needle-like structures in animalsSpine may also refer to:...
s 3-30 mm long; the bud in the axil of each thorn-leaf then develops a short shoot with several normal, photosynthetic leaves. These leaves are 1-10 cm long, simple, and either entire, or with spiny margins. Only on young seedlings do leaves develop on the long shoots, with the adult foliage style developing after the young plant is 1-2 years old.

The deciduous species (e.g. Berberis thunbergii, B. vulgaris) are noted for good autumn colour, the leaves turning pink or red before falling. In some evergreen species from China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 (e.g. B. candidula, B. verruculosa), the leaves are brilliant white beneath, making them particularly attractive.

The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are produced singly or in raceme
Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
s of up to 20 on a single flower-head. They are yellow or orange, 3-6 mm long, with six sepal
Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in a "typical" flower are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals are called the Wiktionary:calyx, and the collection of petals is called the Wiktionary:corolla....
s and six petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s in alternating whorls of three, the sepals usually coloured like the petals. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is a small berry
Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
 5-15 mm long, ripening red or dark blue, often with a pink or violet waxy surface bloom; they may be either long and narrow (like a bar, hence 'barberry') or in other species, spherical.

Berberis species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species including Mottled Pug
Mottled Pug

The Mottled Pug is a moth of the family Geometer moth. It is found across the Palearctic region apart from around the Mediterranean Sea. It is common in the British Isles apart from Scotland where it is rather local....
.

Several are popular garden
Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
 shrubs, grown for their ornamental leaves, yellow flowers, and red or blue-black berries. They are also valued for crime prevention; being very dense, viciously spiny shrubs, they make very effective barriers impenetrable to burglars. For this reason they are often planted below potentially vulnerable windows, and used as hedges and other barriers.

Historically, yellow dye was extracted from the stem, root, and bark.

Berberis vulgaris (European barberry) is the alternate host species of the wheat rust
Rust (fungus)

Rusts are fungi of the order Uredinales. Many of these species are plant parasites. Some are superficially similar to the smut , although their relation to each other is not clear....
 Puccinia graminis, a serious fungal
Fungus

A fungus is a Eukaryote organism that is a member of the Kingdom Fungi . The fungi are a monophyletic group, also called the Eumycota , that is phylogeny distinct from the morphologically similar slime molds and water molds ....
 disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 of wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
. For this reason, cultivation of this species is prohibited in many areas.

Some Berberis have become invasive species
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
 when planted outside of their native ranges, including B. glaucocarpa and B. darwinii in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 (where it is now banned from sale and propagation), and B. thunbergii in some parts of North America.

Culinary uses

The berries are edible, and rich in vitamin C
Vitamin C

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient for humans, a large number of simian species, a small number of other mammalian species , a few species of birds, and some fish....
, though with a very sharp flavour; the thorny shrubs make harvesting them difficult, so in most places they are not widely consumed. They are an important food for many small bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, which disperse the seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s in their droppings.

Berberis buxifolia (Calafate) and Berberis darwinii (Michay) are two species found in Patagonia
Patagonia

Patagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Located in Argentina and Chile, it comprises the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east....
 in Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
 and Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
. Their edible purple fruits are used for jams and infusions; anyone who tries a berry is said to be certain to return to Patagonia. The calafate and michay are symbols of Patagonia.

A widely available Russian candy called ???????? (Barberis) is made using extract from the berries, which are pictured on the wrapper.

Zereshk

Zereshk (????) is the Kurdish
Kurdish language

The Kurdish language is a term used for the language spoken by Kurdish people. It is mainly concentrated in the parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey....
 and Persian
Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
 name for the dried fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 of Berberis vulgaris
Berberis vulgaris

Berberis vulgaris is a shrub in the family Berberidaceae, native to central and southern Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia; it is also naturalisation in northern Europe, including the British Isles and Scandinavia, and North America....
, which are widely cultivated in Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
. Iran is the largest producer of zereshk and saffron
Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the dried gynoecium of the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three Carpels, which are the anatomical terms of location ends of the plant's carpels....
 in the world. Zereshk and saffron are produced on the same land and the harvest
Harvest

In agriculture, the harvest is the process of gathering mature crop from the field s. Reaping is the cutting of grain or Pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper....
 is at the same time.

The South Khorasan province in Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 is the main area of zereshk and saffron
Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the dried gynoecium of the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three Carpels, which are the anatomical terms of location ends of the plant's carpels....
 production in the world. Barberry cultivation in Iran is concentrated in the South Khorasan province, especially around Birjand
Birjand

Birjand is the east iranian provincial capital of South Khorasan and the centre of the county Birjand resp. Quhestan, known for its saffron, barberry, rug and handmade carpet exports....
 and Qaen. About 85% of production is in Qaen and about 15% in Birjand. According to evidence the cultivation of seedless barberry in South Khorasan goes back to two hundred years ago.

A garden of zereshk is called zereshk-estan
-stan

The Affix -stan is Persian language for "place of", derived from the Indo-Aryan languages equivalent, -sthana The suffix also appears in the names of many regions, especially in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, areas where ancient Indo-Iranians were established; in Iranian, however, it is also used more generally, as in Persi...
.

Zereshk is widely used in cooking, imparting a tart flavor to chicken dishes. It is usually cooked with rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
, called zereshk polo, and provides a nice meal with chicken. Zereshk jam, zereshk juice, and zereshk fruit rolls are also produced in Iran.

In colloquial Persian, zereshk is used as a term for showing dissent or disagreement, similar to the usage of "blowing a raspberry
Blowing a raspberry

Blowing a raspberry or strawberry or making a The Bronx cheer is to make a noise signifying derision , made by sticking out the tongue between the lips and blowing to make a sound reminiscent of flatulence....
" in English. Although not a vulgar term in that context, it is not used in polite speech.

Selected species

Europe & Asia, deciduous
  • Berberis aemulans
  • Berberis aetnensis
  • Berberis aggregata
  • Berberis amurensis
  • Berberis angulosa
  • Berberis aristata
  • Berberis beaniana
  • Berberis capillaris
  • Berberis chinensis
  • Berberis circumserrata
  • Berberis cretica
  • Berberis dasystachya
  • Berberis diaphana
  • Berberis dictyoneura
  • Berberis dictyophylla
  • Berberis dielsiana
  • Berberis edgeworthiana
  • Berberis floribunda
  • Berberis forrestii
  • Berberis francisci-ferdinandii
  • Berberis gilgiana
  • Berberis giraldii
  • Berberis graminea
  • Berberis gyalaica
  • Berberis heteropoda
  • Berberis hispanica
  • Berberis jamesiana
  • Berberis koreana
  • Berberis lycium
  • Berberis mitifolia
  • Berberis morrisonensis
  • Berberis mucrifolia
  • Berberis oblonga
  • Berberis parisepala
  • Berberis poiretii
  • Berberis prattii
  • Berberis sherriffii
  • Berberis sieboldii
  • Berberis sikkimensis
  • Berberis silva-taroucana
  • Berberis temolaica
  • Berberis thunbergii
    Berberis thunbergii

    Berberis thunbergii is a species of Berberis, native to Japan and eastern Asia.It is a dense, deciduous, spiny shrub which grows 1-2 m high....
  • Berberis vernae
  • Berberis virescens
  • Berberis virgetorum
  • Berberis vulgaris
    Berberis vulgaris

    Berberis vulgaris is a shrub in the family Berberidaceae, native to central and southern Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia; it is also naturalisation in northern Europe, including the British Isles and Scandinavia, and North America....
  • Berberis wilsoniae
  • Berberis yunnanensis
  • Berberis zabeliana
 Europe & Asia, evergreen
  • Berberis asiatica
  • Berberis atrocarpa
  • Berberis bergmannii
  • Berberis calliantha
  • Berberis candidula
    Berberis candidula

    Berberis candidula is a species of plant in the Berberidaceae family. It is Endemism to China....
  • Berberis centiflora
  • Berberis chrysosphaera
  • Berberis concinna
  • Berberis coriaria
  • Berberis coxii
  • Berberis dumicola
  • Berberis gagnepainii
  • Berberis glaucocarpa
  • Berberis hookeri
  • Berberis hypokerina
  • Berberis insignis
  • Berberis julianae
    Berberis julianae

    Berberis julianae is a shrub of the Berberidaceae family. The species is native to Central China but has been grown elsewhere as ornamental plant....
  • Berberis kawakamii
  • Berberis lycioides
  • Berberis manipuriana
  • Berberis panlanensis
  • Berberis potaninii
  • Berberis pruinosa
  • Berberis replicata
  • Berberis sargentiana
  • Berberis soulieana
  • Berberis sublevis
  • Berberis taliensis
  • Berberis tsangpoensis
  • Berberis umbellata
  • Berberis veitchii
  • Berberis verruculosa
    Berberis verruculosa

    Berberis verruculosa, common name the Warty Barberry, is an evergreen shrub, ranging in size from 1-2 m, native to western China. The leaf are 1.5-2 cm long, hard, leathery, glossy dark green above, vivid white below with stomatal wax; in cold winter weather, the leaves may turn purplish-green above on exposed shoots....
 North America, deciduous
  • Berberis canadensis
  • Berberis fendleri


South America, deciduous
  • Berberis cabrerae
  • Berberis chillanensis
  • Berberis montana


South America, evergreen
  • Berberis actinacantha
  • Berberis buxifolia
    Berberis buxifolia

    Berberis buxifolia, common name the Magellan Barberry, in Spanish language Calafate, is an evergreen shrub, with shiny Buxus-like leaves....
  • Berberis comberi
  • Berberis darwinii
    Berberis darwinii

    Berberis darwinii is a species of Berberis in the family Berberidaceae, native to southern South America in southern Chile and adjacent southwestern Argentina....
  • Berberis empetrifolia
  • Berberis hakeoides
  • Berberis heterophylla
  • Berberis ilicifolia
  • Berberis linearifolia
  • Berberis negeriana
    Berberis negeriana

    Berberis negeriana is a species of Berberis, native and endemic to an extremely small area in coastal range of Bio-Bio Region in Chile. Common name include Neger's Barberry and Michay de Neger....
  • Berberis trigona
  • Berberis valdiviana


Gallery


External links

  • – Informative but non-scholarly essay on barberry and Berberis (culture, history and etymology)


See also

  • Berberine
    Berberine

    Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Berberis, goldenseal , and Coptis chinensis, usually in the roots, rhizomes, stems, and bark....


Zereshk

  • (Zereshk) as sold in Iran and in the US.