| General Description | A glabrous, evergreen shrub, often 60 to 120 cm high and of stiff habit, but sometimes up to 250 cm. |
| Shape | Evergreen spineless rounded shrub 2.5 m x 2.5 m. The foliage has prickly edges but is large broad and very attractive. It makes excellent long-lived cut foliage. |
| Landscape | Not commonly used in garden landscapes. Can be used for small, informal hedges under windows or function as a barrier wall for a small dog.
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| Propagation | From seed or softwood cuttings taken at the beginning of summer.
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| Cultivation | Grows best in full sun to partial shade. Extremely resilient to dry soil conditions. Requires little care, only pruning for shaping at the end of summer. Can be prone to severe winter burn in the colder zones.
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| Pests | May become infected with powdery mildew.
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| Notable Specimens | Lanhydrock House and Garden, Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom. |
| Leaf Description | Oblong-oval, up to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide, very stiff and leathery, the margins formidably set with triangular spines up to 0.5 cm long, dark green above, brilliantly silvery-white beneath. |
| Flower Description | Pale yellow, .05 cm across, up to fifteen crowded in stalkless axillary clusters, individual stalks 1 - 2 cm long. |
| Fruit Description | Blue-purple, of the ordinary elliptical barberry shape, 0.5 cm long, pendent below the branches on their short stalks. |