Veitch Plant Sales

Darwin's barberry

Berberis darwinii AGM

On 27th December 1831 the HMS Beagle set sail from Plymouth on what was to be one of the most important scientific voyages of the century. The mission was to chart safe passage to further British interests overseas and to undertake important scientific measurements which would require a complete circumnavigation of the globe. Aboard was a young man who would prove essential to this journey of discovery. This man was a recent graduate from Cambridge University; a 22-year old naturalist named Charles Darwin (1809-1882). The discoveries he was to make on this momentous journey not only changed his life forever but his views were later to send shock-waves throughout Victorian society and the wider world at that time.

Whilst botanising in Chile in 1835, Darwin discovered this lovely barberry which was later named in tribute to him as Berberis darwinii. But living plants were not available in Britain until William Lobb (1809-1863), sent material from his second plant collecting trip for James Veitch & Son, Exeter. To find it, Lobb had to travel the length of Chile, covering thousands of miles by sea, mule and on foot before he eventually found Darwin's barberry on the island of Chiloé in 1849. Here on the 112 mile long island which is known for its abundant vegetation, B. darwinii is to be found growing alongside the rare conifer Fitzroya cupressoides which Darwin also discovered and which was named after the Beagle's captain, Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865). Later, Lobb was to introduce this tree to British gardens too.

Berberis darwinii has proved to be a very popular garden plant and one of the best flowering evergreen shrubs. It is a dense and prickly plant, which after many years can eventually reach as much as 12ft. It makes an excellent hedge and can also be easily kept trimmed to 3 or 4ft (1 to 1.2m). During April and May it is laden with cheerful golden-orange flowers which are later followed by dense clusters of small plum-shaped, bluish berries.

Many years after its introduction the following was written in tribute; "If Messrs. Veitch had done nothing else towards beautifying our gardens, the introduction of this single species would be enough to earn the gratitude of the whole gardening world."
The Gardener's Chronicle

2009 marked the bi-centenary of both Charles Darwin and William Lobb's birth and this plant is a fitting tribute to both men.

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