Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese barberry Berberidaceae Berberis thunbergii DC. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: BETH
Leaf: Alternate, simple, entire margin, spatulate or obovate, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long, bright green above, paler and somewhat glaucous below.
Flower: Pale yellow, 1/3 inch across, usually in small clusters, appearing in April to May.
Fruit: Shiny red, egg-shaped berry, 1/3 inch long, ripening in the fall and persisting into the next spring.
Twig: Slender, angled or grooved and zigzagged, brown, buds small, thorns at each node, yellow inner bark.
Bark: Gray-brown, finely shreddy.
Form: Small bush with a round dense crown, reaching several feet tall.
 Looks like: American barberry

Japanese barberry leaf image
Japanese barberry flower image
Japanese barberry fruit image
Japanese barberry twig image
Japanese barberry bark image
Japanese barberry form image
Japanese barberry map image

Additional Range Information: Berberis thunbergii is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information