Darwin's Barberry

Berberis darwinii

Also known as Darwin's Barberry, Michay, Calafate Amarillo

At a glance

Family

Berberidaceae (barberry family)

Type

Evergreen, thorny shrub

Parts used

Ripe berries, and traditionally the stem and root bark

Size

6 to 10 feet tall and wide, sometimes larger in mild coastal climates

Bloom

Mid to late spring, clusters of small, deep orange-yellow flowers

Habitat

Native to the temperate rainforests and scrublands of Chile and Argentina; naturalized along hedgerows and coastal cliffs in New Zealand and the British Isles

Acquisition

Grow or buy

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Tart, vitamin-rich berries

Traditional digestive bitter

Dense wildlife hedging

Traditional liver support

Traditional uses

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Long before it ever reached a European garden, Darwin's barberry grew wild across Patagonia, where its small orange berries were gathered by hand and eaten fresh or dried for the leaner months. Charles Darwin himself collected the plant near the Strait of Magellan in 1834, and it carried his name back to English nurseries within a few decades. Like its cousins Berberis vulgaris and Oregon grape, the yellow inner bark of the stems and roots is rich in berberine, an intensely bitter alkaloid, and folk herbalists in its native range have traditionally steeped it as a bitter tonic to settle a sluggish stomach after heavy meals. The berries themselves have a long, simple history as a tart trailside snack and a base for jams and cordials.

How to grow & use it

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Traditional remedies and step-by-step preparations, a complete growing guide, and how to harvest, dry, and store it, all unlocked with HerbLens Unlimited.

✦Remedies & preparations
✦ Growing guide
✦Harvest & storage

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Pairs well with

✦Rosehip
✦Hawthorn berry
✦Ginger

Substitutes

✦Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
✦Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium)

Choose it when

“For a hedgerow gift of orange jewels and old sailor's stories, gathered the way Patagonian families always have.”

Did you know?

The shrub's dense, spiny growth made it a favorite for stock-proof hedging in Victorian Britain, and it later escaped so successfully into the wild that it is now considered an invasive weed across parts of New Zealand, the very success Darwin himself might have appreciated as natural selection in action.

Safety

The bark and root contain berberine, which should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding and can interact with blood thinners and diabetes medication; it is not recommended for infants or young children. The stems carry sharp spines, and only fully ripe berries should be eaten, since unripe ones can upset the stomach.