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Berberis empetrifolia, heath barberry, is a low, spiny evergreen-ish shrub from the Andes of Chile and Argentina that grows on sunny, gravelly ground. It is grown as an ornamental in temperate gardens and needs sun, good drainage and little water once established.
Berberis empetrifolia, sometimes called heath barberry, is a low, somewhat spiny shrub belonging to the barberries in the family Berberidaceae. The local names in Chile are zarcilla, monte negro and uva de la cordillera. It has small narrow entire leaves, and small yolk-colored flowers and later globose blue-black berries. The species is native to south of 30ºS in Argentina and Chile, where it grows on sunny, often gravelly soils, and is sometimes planted as an ornamental elsewhere in temperate climates.
Heath barberry occurs is southern Argentina and Chile, up to subalpine or alpine heights in the Andes among rocks and grows largest in stable scree.
The berry of the heath barberry is edible raw or cooked, and it can be used in jams after removing the seeds. The rest of the plant is poisonous. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental, and in good soil it can eventually exceed 1 m in height and 2 m wide.
Tree Turmeric · American barberry · Darwin's Barberry · Colorado barberry · Berberis ×hortensis · Berberis ilicifolia · Barberry Family · Wintergreen barberry · Berberis laurina · Boxthorn Barberry · Berberis temolaica · Japanese barberry
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Berberis empetrifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
