A guide to nonnative invasive plants inventoried in the north by ...

Berberis vulgaris
Common barberry BEVU
Form: Deciduous shrub up to 10 ft (3 m) tall. Branches are
grooved, gray, and usually have groupings of three spines
(can be as few as one) along them.
Leaves: Alternate or fascicled, ¾-2 in. (2-5 cm) long. Dull
green, obovate to obovate-oblong with finely serrate margins
(occasionally the serrations are more prominent).
Flowers/fruits: Bright yellow flowers have unpleasant smell,
in a pendant raceme 1-2½ in. (3-6 cm) long with 10-20
flowers. Fruit is ellipsoid, red, ⅓ in. (1 cm) long, containing
1-3 small, black seeds.
Habitat: Open canopy forests and sometimes along roads;
also very successful in calcareous soils.
Notes