Description
Medium-sized, bushy, widely spreading evergreen shrub (H 2,5-3 m, W 3-4 m). Branches long, open, hanging in a distinctive, arching way, dense, thorny. Leaves very narrowly ovate (2-3 cm), with a spiny margin, smooth, glossy, dark green. Flowers in numerous dense inflorescence, bright yellow, strongly scented. Flowering period: May, outstandingly freely flowering. Fruits ovate (0,8 cm), fleshy, glossy, black-blue, with grey-blue bloom. Ripening time: October-November, fruits persist on the branches long into winter. Attracts butterflies, bees and birds. Undemanding shrub, it grows well in different soil-types, also in poor, dry, sandy soils; in distinctly sunny to slightly shady sites. Berberis × stenophylla is a cross between B. × darwinii and B. × empetrifolia.