Berberis napaulensis (syn. B. duclouxiana; , ) is a shrub in the family Berberidaceae described as a species in 1821. It is native to the Himalayas (northwestern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Assam), and into the mountains of southwestern China (Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan), Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, growing at altitudes of 1,200-3,000 metres.Flora of China: Mahonia napaulensis CandolleFlora of China: Mahonia duclouxiana This species is used medicinally throughout the Sikkim Eastern Himalayas.
Description
Berberis napaulensis is an evergreen shrub (rarely a small tree) that grows to 1–7 metres tall. The leaves are 17–70 centimetres long and 7–22 cm broad, with 4-12 pairs of leaflets plus a larger terminal leaflet, all shiny above, yellowish-green below, and with spined margins. The flowers are yellow, borne in large panicles. The berries are spherical, deep purple, 5–8 millimetres in diameter.
Taxonomy Berberis napaulensis was initially scientifically named and described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle as Mahonia napaulensis in 1821.Candolle, Augustin Pyramus de. 1821. Regni Vegetabilis Systema Naturale 2: 21 As part of a long running debate between botanists on whether Mahonia should be a synonym of Berberis, Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel classified it as Berberis napaulensis in 1825. A paper published by Joseph Edward Laferrière in 1997 gave arguments in favour of Berberis as the correct classification, while Yu & Chung (2017) recommended acceptance of four genera including Mahonia as distinct. As of 2023, the Plants of the World Online database (POWO) follows Laferrière's single-genus classification. The Flora of China treats the species in Mahonia; it also treats Berberis duclouxiana as a separate species, as Mahonia duclouxiana.
Varieties
As of 2023 two varieties are recognised by POWO. Numerous synonyms are listed by POWO for each of the varieties recognised there, a very large number in the case of Berberis napaulensis var. napaulensis.
Berberis napaulensis var. napaulensis
Berberis napaulensis var. pycnophylla (Fedde) Laferr.
Ecology In Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, a species of rust fungus Pucciniosira cornuta (synonym of Gambleola cornuta ) infects Berberis nepalensis.
References