Berberis ruscifolia

At a glance

Lifecycle: Perennial (hardy)
Exposure: Full sun

Cultivation

Prefers a warm moist loamy soil and light shade but it is by no means fastidious, succeeding in thin, dry and shallow soils. Grows well in heavy clay soils. We have very little information on this species but it succeeds outdoors at Oxford Botanical Gardens and so should be hardy in many parts of Britain. Plants can be pruned back quite severely, they resprout well from the base. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. This species is closely related to B. illicifolia.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, when it should germinate in late winter or early spring. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame. If growth is sufficient, it can be possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the autumn, but generally it is best to leave them in the cold frame for the winter and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, preferably with a heel, October/November in a frame.

Edible uses

Fruit - cooked. Somewhat bitter.

Medicinal uses

Berberine, universally present in rhizomes of Berberis species, has marked antibacterial effects. Since it is not appreciably absorbed by the body, it is used orally in the treatment of various enteric infections, especially bacterial dysentery.

Material uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the root.

Habitat

Not known

Native range

S. America - Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay.