Berberis japonica (Japanese Mahonia, "Hiiraginanten")

Japanese name: ヒイラギナンテン （柊南天）
Scientific name: Berberis japonica

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub about 1.5 m tall.
In its native habitat some reach 4 m.
The leaves are alternate and odd-pinnately compound, and tend to gather at the branch tips.
There are 5–8 pairs of leaflets, which are elliptic-lanceolate and leathery, with spiny teeth.
The leaves turn a yellowish-brown-tinged bronze color in winter.
Racemes that lean somewhat sideways emerge at the branch tips and bear dense flowers.
The flowers are yellow and 6-petaled.
The stamens move so as to smear pollen on insects and other visitors when touched.
The fruit is a berry that ripens blue-indigo to black-purple and is covered with a white bloom.

[History]
It is said to have arrived in Japan at the end of the 17th century.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or cuttings.
For seed, collect ripe fruit, wash off and remove the pulp, and sow immediately.
It is suited to cultivation south of the Tohoku region, and it is preferable that it not be exposed to cold winter wind.
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 hardy 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 not particularly necessary unless the soil becomes extremely dry.
Apply slow-release fertilizer in winter.
If the branches become leggy, prune to tidy the shape.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from the leaves resembling those of Hiiragi and the fruit resembling that of Nanten.

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