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["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: Message

I've long been interested in barberries because I grew up in western Kansas, where B. thunbergii is grown as an ornamental because it is tolerant of low rainfall, high summer temperatures, low humidity, and drying winds.

 

I can't comment on the nutritional or antioxidant value of B. thunbergii, but I have bought barberry-flavored hard candy at a Ukrainian/Russian food shop here in St. Paul, Minn.  I think, however, that it's more likely that these candies are flavored with European barberry (Berberis vulgaris) berries.

 

European barberries have long been used in jams and other food preparations in Europe and in Asia.  For example, in Iran the dried berries (known in Farsi as zereshk) are used to flavor rice and in Kazahkstan they are used to flavor a plov (pilaf) of rice, lamb, onions and carrots.   B. vulgaris is known in European English-speaking countries as barberry, common barberry, berbery, European barberry, jaundice-berry, pipperidge bush or piprage; in German-speaking countries as Berberitze (barberry), Sauerdorn (sour thorn), Essigdorn (vinegar thorn) or Gewöhnliche Berberitze (common barberry); in Finland as ruostehappomarja; in Sweden as berberis, surtorn or vanlig berberis; in France as épine-vinette or vinettier; and in Italy as crespino.

 

There's an article, "Barberry Growing in Iran," in ISHS Acta Horticulturae 620: XXVI International Horticultural Congres: Asian Plants with Unique Horticultural Potential: Genetic Resources, Cultural Practices, and Utilization.  Here's a shortened version of the abstract:  Seedless barberry [Berberis vulgaris (L.) var. asperma] has been widely used as a food additive.  In Iran, more than 5,000 tonnes of barberries are produced annually, mostly in Khorasan Province, where 6,000 hectares are devoted to the crop.  Barberry cultivation is concentrated in the south of the province, especially around Birjand and Ghayen, where environmental conditions (hot weather, low relative humidity, water shortage and soil conditions) are unfavorable for the growing of other horticultural crops.  Mean yearly precipitation is 190.3 and 173.5 mm in Ghayen and Birjand, respectively.  Minimum and maximum temperature are -38 and 41° C in Ghayen and -15 and 44° C in Birjand.  Seedless barberry has been grown in Khorasan Province for 200 years.  The paper summarizes detailed info about cultivation, taxonomy, propagation, utilization, and processing of seedless barberry in the southern parts of Khorasan Province.

 

By law, European barberry may not be grown in the USA because it is the alternate host for the black stem rust fungus that infects wheat, oats, barley, and rye.  In contrast, Japanese barberry (B. thunbergii) may be cultivated in the USA because it does not host this fungus.  A list of barberries that have been found to be hosts to the black stem rust fungus is at http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9751 .

 

That being said, both European barberry and Japanese barberry long ago escaped into the wild in the USA and Canada and the destruction of wild plants is encouraged, either because they host the stem rust fungus or because they are invasive exotics that pose a threat to native plants. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Richard Moyer
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2006 2:23 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Barberry request

See request below from a former student.  Please weigh in with any info.

Thanks,

Richard

East TN---Where the medlars are getting mushy.

 

"One of my colleagues from Russia brought in an interesting candy made from barberries.  These berries, as I've discovered, are the fruit from the Berberis thunbergii shrub.  I was curious if you new anything about this small, red berry, specifically if they have any nutritional or antioxidant value."