Berberis higginsiae is a shrub found only in a small region south and east of San Diego in southern California and northern Baja California. It grows in chaparral and woodland areas at elevations of .
Berberis higginsiae is evergreen, with thick, stiff compound leaves. It sometimes reaches a height of up to . It is similar to B. fremontii and B. haematocarpa but with narrower leaflets and yellowish-red berries.Flora of North America v 3Munz, Philip Alexander. Aliso 4(1): 91–92. 1958.
The compound leaves place this species in the group sometimes segregated as the genus Mahonia.Loconte, 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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