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Scientific: Berberis trifoliolata (Synonyms: Berberis trifoliolata var. glauca, Mahonia trifoliolata)
Common: desert barberry, desert mahonia, Agarita mahonia
Family: Berberidaceae
Origin: Southwest North America deserts into grassland transitions zones between 3,000 and 7,000 feet elevation.

Pronounciation: BER-ber-is tri-fol-ee-o-LA-ta

Hardiness zones
Sunset
7-9, 12-13
USDA 8-11

Landscape Use: Best used as a filler plant within desert or Southwest native landscape gardens with high plant diversity and mixed greenery, textural accent.

Form & Character: Upright, stiff and spikey and prickly, unfriendly, alone, non-conformist, strangely dangerous to present day humanoids who are constantly peering downward at their mobile phones.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, woody, broadleaf perennial shrub, basally branching to 5-feet tall with similar to lesser spread.

Foliage/Texture: Three lobed, nearly pinntified, strongly serrate and leathery leaves, grayish green in color, nearly sessile; medium coarse texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Simple clusters of small yellow, axillary, 6-petaled flowers in spring followed by fruits that are small, dark, bluish black drupes in late fall and winter.

Seasonal Color: None

Temperature: Very tolerant of desert conditions.

Light: Full sun to partial shade.

Soil: Very tolerant.

Watering: Little additional water from irrigation after establishment.

Pruning: Use heading cuts every few years to encourage fullness and a natural form - I recommend either early spring or early fall in Phoenix. Cut back to any height to select desired mature size after regrowth.

Special horticultural insight: Shearing a desert barberry is a surefire way of demonstrating horticultural naivety and being labeled a 'horticultural clod' aka 'hort clod'. DON'T BE a 'hort clod'!

Propagation: Fresh seed propagation, vegetative stem cuttings, tissue culture, micropropagation.

Disease and Pests: None

Additional comments: Desert barberry is a prickly, seldom-used, southwest native shrub. The genera Berberis and Mahonia were once separate, but species within these two genera are now all considered to be in the genus Berberis.

Medicinal notes: The genus Berberis has many antibacterial, antitumor, and tonic medicinal uses. Berberine, universally present in rhizomes of Berberis species, has marked antibacterial effects and is used as a bitter tonic. Since it is not appreciably absorbed by the body, it is used orally in the treatment of various enteric infections, especially bacterial dysentery. For highest concentrations, the root and root bark are best harvested in the autumn. Plants in the family Berberidaceae all have high concentrations of xanthophyll (yellow) pigmentation in the stem. A yellow dye is obtained from the inner bark of the stem and roots. An ink is made from the wood. Dark green, violet and dark blue-purple dyes are obtained from the fruit. A green dye is obtained from the leaves.