Berberis wallichiana

Berberis wallichiana DC., Prodr. 1: 107 1824. (syn: Berberis asiatica Griff.; Berberis atrovirens Wall. ex G. Don; Berberis atroviridis Wall. ex Steud.; Berberis griffithiana var. pallida (Hook. fil. & Thomson) D.F. Chamberlain & C.M. Hu; Berberis horrida Jungh.; Berberis macrophylla hort. ex Lindl.; Berberis wallichiana var. atroviridis Hook. fil. & Thoms.; Berberis xanthoxylon Hassk.) as per Catalogue of Life;

India (Meghalaya), Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar [Burma] (Chin, Kachin, Shan), Vietnam as per Catalogue of Life;

Spiny evergreen shrub, about 2-3 m tall. Stem subterete or subangled, grey, glabrous, branches sharply terete, internodes short, about 3-4 cm long, spines short, 2-3 fid, about 1.5-3 cm long. Leaves arranged about 3-6 in a node, lanceolate-oblong, 3-12 x 0.8-2.8 cm across, base cuneate, margin subserrate with small 9-21 spinules, apex acute with mucronate tip, chartaceous, subcoriaceous, shining, with thick hypoderm, dark green, glabrous or sublustrous above, paler beneath, lateral veins 6-12 on either side of the midrib, impressed above, prominently veined on the midrib beneath, petiole subsessile or about 2-3 mm long. Inflorescence axillary, fascicled, 10-20 flowered. Flowers bisexual, yellow, about 5-8 mm across, pedicels stout, about 6-10 mm long, sepals 6, in 2 series, outer series smallest and inner series largest, outer series 3, oblong-obovate, apex acute, about 3 x 1.5 mm across, inner series longer, obovate, about 4.5 x 3 mm across, petals 6, obovate base grandular, clawed with separate glands, margin entire, about 5 x 2.5 mm across. Stamens 6, free, about 3.5-4 mm long, anthers opening by 2 recurved valves, ovary simple, oblong, ovules solitary, stigma subsessile. Fruits are several seeded berries, obovoid-ellipsoid, glabrous, purplish black when ripe, about 8-10 x 4-5 mm across, stylose.
Forests, altitude about 1700-3300 m.
Global Distribution- Asia: Bhutan, India, Nepal.
Local Distribution- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal.
(Attributions- Ganeshaiah, K. N., UAS, Bangalore, India.; Kailash, B. R., ATREE, Bangalore, India.; Royal Norwegian Embassy grants. Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.)
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