Warty barberry is an evergreen shrub in the barberry family (Berberidaceae) native to China. It gets its common name from the rounded raised spots on the stems. This shrub grows 3 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide in a rounded arching form. It prefers partial shade to shade and tolerates any well-drained garden soil. It is drought-tolerant once established. Propagate by seed or stem cuttings. Spreads to form thickets. Birds will spread the seeds. The solitary golden-yellow flowers are 1 inch across and appear in late spring to summer. They are followed by blue-black berries in the fall. The leaves are glossy green with glaucous undersides and spiny teeth. The stems have narrow three-parted spines. The plant has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1929. Warty Barberry can be used as a specimen, hedge, or barrier plant. It can also be used on slopes and banks to help with erosion. Quick ID Hints : Stems covered in tiny wart-like excrescences Leaves on dwarf shoots, 3-parted spines at nodes Leaves green or reddish above, tomentose underneath Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Watch for berberis sawfly and powdery mildew. Deer resistant. More information on Berberis .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Dense; Rounded; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green; White
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Leathery; Smooth
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
This plant has alternate, simple, leathery, and dark green leaves that are 0.5-1.5 inches long. Leaves taper at both ends, and the margins are slightly spiny toothed. They may become purplish-green or mahogany in winter. Elliptic or ovate to ovate-lanceolate, margins remotely spiny-toothed and recurved, glabrous, dark green above, glaucous and tomentose underneath, clustered on dwarf shoots in spine axil.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange
Flower form
Raceme
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
This plant has golden-yellow flowers. 2-5, yellow, 1/2", borne on long pedicels. Inflorescence in subumbellate racemes.
Fruit color
Black; Purple/Lavender
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit size
< 1 inch long
Fruit detail
This plant has 0.3-inch fruit that is violet-black with a bloom, ovoid berry.
Stem color
Brown/Copper
Stem detail
Rounded, light brown, covered with tiny, dark brown excrescences, imparting a rough texture to bark; spines are slender, 3-parted, less than 1" long.