Berberis koreana (Korean barberry)

Berberis koreana Palib.

Korean barberry

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Magnoliidae	Includes magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others
Order	Ranunculales	Basal (evolved earlier) eudicots, also called “true dicots”
Family	Berberidaceae	Barberry family
Genus	Berberis	The Latinized form of the Arabic name for this fruit
Species	koreana	Of or from Korea

About plant names...

Korean barberry is native to Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and other parts of East Asia. It is popular as an ornamental shrub in North America, South America, and Europe. It is reported naturalized, probably escaped from gardens, in a few locations in Vermont, and I have twice spotted it, apparently naturalized, in northern central Massachusetts. It is hardy to 5°F (–15°C), and grows in many soil types, and both well drained and moist soils. It needs partial or full sunlight.

Plants: Shrubs are 3-6' (91-182 cm) around, with multiple smooth-barked spiny branches.

Leaves: ⅞-2½" (2.5-7 cm) long, medium to dark green, alternate, edged with spiny teeth. In the fall, leaves are red-purple.

Flowers: This shrub doesn’t just flower, it lights up like a searchlight! Flowers are ⅛" (5 mm), bell-shaped, in dense bright yellow racemes on reddish branches. It flowers from May to June. (In the two specimens I have seen, the duration of flowering was short, a few days.)

Fruits: Dense clusters of egg-shaped berries ripen to yellow and bright red. Berries are ⅛-¼" (5-7.6 mm) long.

Edibility: One source says the fruits are edible, either raw or cooked, and that young leaves may be cooked and eaten.

Medical: Barberry root bark contains vitamin C, and several isoquinoline alkaloids, predominantly berberine. These compounds have been found to have effects on animals, such as lowering blood pressure in cats, or reducing fever in rabbits. There is also evidence that some of these compounds are converted in the human body to MPTP (1[N]-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), which contributes to the development of Parkinson’s disease. There are no substantiated safe uses for extracts from barberries.

Online References:

Berberis koreana on plants.ces.ncsu.edu

Berberis koreana on Wikipedia

Berberis koreana on gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

Berberis koreana on Plants for a Future