Berberis soulieana
C. K. Schneid.
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Summary
An evergreen shrub growing to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. Hardy to UK zone 6 with year-round foliage. Flowers June to July; hermaphroditic blooms are insect-pollinated and self-fertile. Accommodates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, including nutrient-poor conditions. Suitable for mildly acidic, neutral, or mildly alkaline soils. Grows in semi-shade to full sun with dry to moist soil tolerance.
Description
A shrub. It keeps its leaves throughout the year. It grows 1-2 m tall. It has spines. The leaves are oblong and 4-10 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are yellow-green underneath. The flowers are in groups of 7-20. The fruit are red berries. They are oval and 7-8 mm long by 5 mm wide.
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Fruit Edible Uses: Fruit - raw or cooked.
Medicinal Uses
Antibacterial Cancer Dysentery 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. It should not be used with Glycyrrhiza species (Liquorice) because this nullifies the effects of the berberine. Berberine has also shown antitumour activity.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant. It grows in thickets and along streams between 600-1,800 m above sea level. In Sichuan.
Where It Grows
Asia, Australia, China,
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. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Plants can be pruned back quite severely and resprout well from the base.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, when it should germinate in late winter or early spring. Seed from over-ripe fruit will take longer to germinate, whilst stored seed may require cold stratification and should be sown in a cold frame as early in the year as possible. The seedlings are subject to damping off, so should be kept well ventilated. 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.
Other Uses
Dye A good informal hedging plant. A yellow dye is obtained from the roots. Special Uses
Notes
There are about 450-500 Berberis species.
References (2)
- Bull. Herb. Boissier ser. 2, 5:449. 1905 (C. S. Sargent, Pl. wilson. 3:437. 1917)
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
