Keyed Out #033 — Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea

Question 1

Each pollen sac opens by two small trapdoors that hinge upward from the base rather than by a lengthwise slit, and the stamens stand directly opposite the petals instead of alternating with them.

Accepted Answer

barberry family

Question 2

Its berry ripens from a chamber that stood above the petals, so the withered flower leaves no scar at the fruit's far end.

Accepted Answer

Berberidaceae

Question 3

Sharp spines stand at every node, developed from leaves rather than from shoots, with the working foliage clustered in tufts on dwarf shoots in their axils.

Accepted Answer

Berberis

Question 4

Scratch through the bark of a stem and the wood beneath is a vivid chrome yellow rather than pale cream or greenish.

Accepted Answer

Berberis

Question 5

Its leaves are small and spoon-shaped with a completely smooth unbroken edge, carrying neither fine teeth nor stiff marginal prickles.

Accepted Answer

Berberis thunbergii

Question 6

Its flowers hang in small drooping clusters of only two to four, not in dense bunches of a dozen or more crowded at the same point.

Accepted Answer

Berberis thunbergii