Barberry

Parts Usually Used

Root, root-bark, berries

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Barberry is a densely branched, deciduous shrub 3-8 feet tall, with many tripartite spines on the yellowish branches; the root is yellow on the outside and its bark has a bitter taste. The stems, growing from 3-8 feet high, are reddish when young but turn dirty gray when older. The leaves are obovate to oval and have a soft, bristly point, grow crowded together on short shoots.

The small, yellow flowers, 10-20 per raceme, appear from April to June and hang from the branches in clusters. Petals are not notched. The flowers are followed by bright red, oblong berries 1/2 inch long grow in copious clusters, ripening in August and September, have an agreeable acid taste and should be eaten only when ripe. Another variety: Amur barberry (Berberidis amerenis)

Where Found

Grows in hard, gravely soil in the northeastern states and sometimes in rich soils in the western states. In woods, fence rows, waste ground, roadsides and hedges.

Medicinal Properties

Tonic, purgative, hepatic, antiseptic, alterative, refrigerant, anthelmintic, bacteriocide, aoebicidal

Biochemical Information

Berberine alkaloid, chelidonic acid, resin, tannin, wax, berbamine, berberrubine, columbamine, hydrastine, jatrorrhizine, manganese, oxycanthine, palmatine, and vitamin C

Legends, Myths and Stories

Many species of barberry are found all over the world. They are all used for similar medicinal purposes by the different traditions. The yellow root was an important dye for baskets, buckskins, and fabric among Native Americans. The early Spanish-Americans used the yellow root to make neck-crosses (crucifixes).

Uses

Historically, herbalists utilized the ripe berries for conditions such as diarrhea, fever, and digestive complaints, or prepared them into jellies and cooked fruit dishes. The fresh juice was traditionally employed as a gargle or mouthwash intended to strengthen the gums. The root-bark, noted in historical sources for containing the bitter alkaloid berberine, was administered as a bitter tonic and mild purgative to stimulate digestion, promote bile secretion, and address liver complaints, jaundice, colic, and dyspepsia.

Traditional practitioners also associated it with physiological effects such as dilating blood vessels, decreasing heart rate, depressing respiration, and stimulating intestinal movement. In folk traditions, preparations of the plant were administered for rheumatic complaints, sciatica, inflammatory arthritic conditions, and to support convalescent patients during recovery. Externally, herbalists applied it to address skin conditions including sores, burns, cuts, bruises, acne, itch, and ringworm.

Bibliography

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06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.

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D. and Phyllis A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.

Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.