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Barberry may be found growing as a common garden bush in Europe and the British Isles. This herb develops as a spiny deciduous bush growing to about 2.5 m. It bears yellow flowers which
turn into red to blue-black berries. The stem bark is thin and yellow grey in colour.
The parts of this plant used are the bark of the stem and root, the root and the berries. The root is harvested in
spring and autumn and the stem bark is collected at the same time. It has a bitter taste. The constituents include alkaloids including berberine, oxyancanthine, chelidonic acid, tannins, resin, fat and
starch. |
