Japanese name: ホソバヒイラギナンテン（細葉柊南天） Scientific name:Berberis fortunei
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub about 0.5–2 m tall.
The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnately compound and 10–28 cm long, and tend to cluster at the branch tips.
There are 2–5 pairs of leaflets, narrowly elliptic, 4.5–14 cm long and 0.9–2.5 cm wide, with a few spiny teeth.
An erect raceme emerges at the branch tips.
The flowers are pale yellow with 6 petals.
The fruit is a berry that ripens to blackish purple, and its skin is covered with a white waxy bloom.
[Uses]
The rhizome is used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
For sowing, collect ripe fruits, wash off the pulp with water, and sow immediately.
It is suited to cultivation from the Tohoku region southward, and it is preferable to keep it out of cold winter winds.
It grows in sun to partial shade and is not particular about soil, but prefers fertile soil that does not dry out too much.
In shade it becomes leggy and flowers poorly.
It is vigorous and easy to grow.
For potted plants, water thoroughly from spring to autumn when the soil surface dries.
For plants in the ground, watering is unnecessary unless the soil becomes extremely dry.
Apply slow-release fertilizer in winter.
If the branches become leggy, prune to shape the tree.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
[Notes]
It is also called Mahonia fortunei, after a synonym of its scientific name.
