Berberis nervosa
species of plant
Berberis nervosa, commonly known as dwarf Oregon-grape, Cascade barberry, Cascade Oregon-grape, or dull Oregon-grape, is a North American flowering plant.
Description
It is an evergreen shrub with short vertical stems, mostly less than 61 centimetres (24 in), while the leaves reach higher, rarely up to 2.1 m (7 ft) tall on exceptional sites. The plant can reproduce via seeds or by vegetative means, sprouting from rhizomes which extend laterally through the soil.
The leaves are compound and oppositely arranged, with 9–21 leaflets. Each leaflet is up to 7 cm (3 in) long, strongly toothed, reminiscent of holly, and somewhat shiny, but less so than tall Oregon-grape. The leaflets do not have a single central vein as in that species, but several veins arranged fan-like, branched from the leaflet base, hence the epithet nervosa.
The flowers bloom from early to late spring and are similar to those of other Oregon-grapes, forming small yellow flowers in erect clusters up to 8 inches (20 cm) in length.
The fruits are dark-blue, globose berries 7 millimetres (1⁄4 in) in diameter, occurring in clusters and tart-tasting.
Taxonomy
Berberis nervosa was scientifically described and named by German-American botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1813. In 1818 Thomas Nuttall placed it in the new genus Mahonia as Mahonia nervosa.
“Berberis nervosa” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Berberis, nervosa and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Berberis nervosa” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Berberis, nervosa and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19848987. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1813 and 1818.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Berberis nervosa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.