Black fruit barberry is a plant in the Berberidaceae family and is a native plant of China. It is distributed in mainland China, including Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other regions, and grows in areas with altitudes ranging from 600 to 2800 meters. It is often found under Pinus massoniana forests, on the edge of evergreen broad-leaved forests, and in shrubs on mountain slopes.
Image of black fruit barberry
Plant morphology
Evergreen shrub, 1-2 meters tall. Branches are brownish-gray or dark brown, with ridges or grooves, and scattered with black wart-like dots. Stems have three forked thorns, 1-4 centimeters long, pale yellow, and flattened on the ventral surface.
The leaves are thick and papery, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 3-7 centimeters long, 7-14 millimeters wide, with an acute apex and a wedge-shaped base. The upper surface is dark green, glossy, with a sunken midrib, while the lower surface is light green with a prominent midrib. The lateral veins and reticulate veins are slightly visible and not covered in white powder. The leaf margin is flat or slightly curled towards the back, with 5-10 spiny teeth on each side, occasionally nearly entire. It has a short petiole.
3-10 flowers are clustered together; the flower stalk is 5-10 millimeters long, smooth and hairless, with a red color; the flowers are yellow. There are two whorls of sepals, with the outer sepals being oblong-ovate, about 4 millimeters long and 2 millimeters wide, and the inner sepals being oblong-ovate, about 7 millimeters long and 4 millimeters wide. The petals are oblong-ovate, about 6 millimeters long and 4.5 millimeters wide, with a rounded and deeply serrated apex, a wedge-shaped base, and two separate glands. The stamens are about 4 millimeters long, and there are 2 ovules without a stalk or with a short stalk.
The fruit is black, ovoid, about 5 millimeters long and 4 millimeters in diameter, with a clearly persistent style and not covered in white powder. It blooms in April and fruits from May to August.
Deciduous shrub, 1.5-2 meters tall, with many branches. The roots are thick and long, yellow. Leaves are clustered on short branches; leaf blades are inversely ovate, with entire or toothed margins; the base of small branches often has three forked thorns, with one long and two short. Inflorescences are cymose; the flowers are small and yellow. The fruit is spherical and turns purplish-black when ripe.
Image of black fruit barberry
Origin and habitat
It is native to Sichuan, Yunnan, and Hunan provinces in China. It grows in shrubs on mountain slopes, under Pinus massoniana forests, under Yunnan pine forests, on the edge of evergreen broad-leaved forests, or on rocks. It is found at altitudes of 600-2800 meters. The type specimen was collected from Baoxing County, Sichuan Province.
It is found in mountainous areas, low mountain areas, and on both sides of river valleys.
It is distributed in Xinjiang, Mongolia, Altai region of Russia, and Central Asia in the former Soviet Union.
Habitat: riversides, slopes in low mountain and forest areas, and shrubs on mountain slopes.
Medicinal value
【Source】: The roots, root bark, and stem bark of the dicotyledonous medicinal plant black fruit barberry. Harvested in spring and autumn.
【Functions】: Clears heat and dampness, purges fire, and detoxifies.
【Main uses】: Used to treat dysentery, enteritis, pharyngitis, stomatitis, eczema, and abscesses.
【Properties and channels】: Bitter taste, cold nature, non-toxic. Acts on the lung and large intestine meridians.
【Dosage and usage】: Internal use: decocted into a soup, 3-5 qian. External use: decocted into a mouthwash or ground into powder for topical application.
【Research】: It is mentioned in the "Xinjiang Herbal Manual"; in rural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang, the fruit of black fruit barberry (wild plum) is used to treat hypertension. One or two fruits are decocted into a soup with an appropriate amount of sugar for internal use.
