Berberis insignis - East-Himalayan Barberry

East-Himalayan Barberry is an evergreen shrub, about 1-2 m tall. Stem round or four-edged, dark red to purplish or pale brownish yellow, hairless, spines absent or 2 fid, few from the lower nodes, near the base. Leaves are simple, usually 2 or 1-5 in each node, lanceshaped-elliptic or narrow ovate, 4-16 x 1.5-5 cm across, base wedge-shaped, margin sawtoothed-toothed with 2-4 mm long many spinules, tip tapering with spinule tip, papery, leathery, dark green, hairless or lustrous above, paler beneath, lateral veins 12-20 on either side of the midrib, nearly stalkless or stalk 3-7 mm long. Flowers are borne in leaf-axils, in 5-15 flowered racemes or fascicles. Flowers are bisexual, yellow, about 4-7 mm across, flower-stalks about 8-15 mm long, sepals 6, in 2 series, outer series smallest and inner series largest. Petals are 6, obovate or oblong, tip notched. Stamens are about 1-2 mm long. Fruits are several seeded berries, obovoid, irregularly netveined on surface, uneven, black when ripe, about 6-8 x 3-4 mm, stylose, style like a cap on top of the fruit. East-Himalayan Barberry is found in forests edges in Eastern Himalayas, at altitudes of 2000-3400 m, from Nepal to NE India.