Berberis wilcoxiiKearney, Transactions of the New York Academy of Science 14: 29. 1894. is a shrub native to Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora. It is up to 2 m tall, with pinnately compound leaves of 5-7 leaflets, densely clustered racemes and ovoid berries up to 10 mm long. It is generally found in rocky canyons in mountainous areas at an elevation of 1700–2500 m.Laferriere, J.E. Berberidaceae, Barberry Family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 26:2-4. 1992.Flora of North America vol 3.
The compound leaves place this species in the group sometimes segregated as the genus Mahonia.Flora of North America, vol 3Loconte, H., & J. R. Estes. 1989. Phylogenetic systematics of Berberidaceae and Ranunculales (Magnoliidae). Systematic Botany 14:565-579.Marroquín, Jorge S., & Joseph E. Laferrière. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 30(1):53-55.Laferrière, Joseph E. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Bot. Zhurn. 82(9):96-99.
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