# American Barberry (Berberis canadensis)

> American barberry, Berberis canadensis: a plant of 1 to 7 feet for zones 4 to 8, how fast it grows, the plants it is mistaken for, and how to handle it.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/american-barberry/

Shrub, 1 to 7 feet, zones 4 to 8; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.

We do not grow American barberry, and it is not in our shop. This page is for telling it from the plants it is mistaken for.

## At a glance

| Fact | American Barberry |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Allegheny barberry, Alleghany barberry |
| Form | Shrub |
| Height, feet | 1 to 7 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 8 |
| Zones | 4 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Wildlife value, rare, hedge or screen |
| Flowers | April to May |
| Fruit | Berries, September to October |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Toxicity | The bark is poisonous to people. |
| Ground | Rocky ground, stream banks, dry uplands and the Appalachians |
| Native in | 13 states |

American barberry is native in 13 states: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records.

## Often mistaken for

Japanese barberry, an invasive shrub from Asia, has small leaves with smooth edges, and its flowers hang singly or in small clusters of up to five. American barberry's leaves carry 3 to 12 bristle-tipped teeth on each edge, and its flowers hang in loose sprays of 3 to 12.

Common barberry, a non-native shrub that now grows wild in the North, has gray bark on its two-year-old twigs, and each leaf edge usually carries 16 to 30 fine teeth. Its hanging sprays hold 10 to 20 flowers. American barberry's twigs are brown or purple, and its yellow petals are notched at the tip.

## Handling

American barberry is an alternate host of black stem rust, a fungus disease of wheat and other grains, and past barberry eradication destroyed many of its wild stands. Federal rules treat any barberry missing from the rust-resistant list as susceptible, and this species is not on the list. Its plants, seeds and fruit may not be moved from another state into or through a protected area. That covers 16 states, five of them in its native range, and 20 counties of Washington. Its branches also carry three-parted spines. The berries are not poisonous, but they hold berberine, which can upset the stomach, especially in children.

## Read from

Its figures come from the Flora of North America, NC State Extension, NatureServe Explorer, the Wildflower Center, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Morton Arboretum, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Code of Federal Regulations.