The common barberry is a thorny bush, 1-2 m high, with upright branches slightly bent at the tip. The ovate buds, located in the axils of 1-7 branched thorns, arc arranged in spirals on the yellow-grey shoots. The round, yellow flowers, composed of six sepals and six petals, appear at the end of May. The fruits are bright red, oblong berries, measuring 8-13 mm and borne in drooping clusters. Inside arc 1-3 pip-like seeds. The berries ripen in September and often remain on the shrub until late in winter.
The buds, unlike those of other alders, are stalkless, pointed, and coloured greenish brown. The catkins appear together with the leaves in April to May. The cone-like fruit is only 1 cm long and is a paler colour and less woody than that of the common alder. The small-winged fruits are yellow-brown and resemble those of the birch.
It is a high-mountain shrub growing mainly in the Alps and Carpathians, where it forms dense thickets above the tree line at elevations of 1300 to 2200 m; it does not occur in Britain. The Urals and western and central Siberia are the home of a closely related geographical variety. The green alder stands up to abundant shade better than dwarf pine and is found mostly on north-facing, damper slopes. It is of importance in soil retention and prevents the formation of snow and rock avalanches.
Traveller's joy is a climbing shrub attaching itself to the stems and branches of other woody plants with its leaf stalks and growing to a height of 6-8 m. The stem is angular in cross-section and covered with bark that peels off in long strips and may be as much as 2-3 cm thick. The whitish flowers, measuring 2 cm across, bloom in June and July; the achencs ripen in September and October and form heads with whitish feathery plumes. They remain on the bush until late in winter.
This shrub is a native of southern Europe and Asia Minor, growing in warm locations as far north as central Europe and England. It is found in greatest abundance on fresh, fertile soils in riverine woods, on the margins of forests and in shrub thickets. In the neighbourhood of villages it grows on walls and fences.
Widespread throughout most of Europe, its range extends northward as far as the 63rd parallel. In central Europe it grows mostly on the edges of forests, in hedgerows and in open woods up to elevations of 300-600 m. On limestone rock it grows up to elevations of 1000 m. It requires partial sunlight but will grow in drier situations and poorer soil. It yields flexible wood and charcoal. - 15266
The buds, unlike those of other alders, are stalkless, pointed, and coloured greenish brown. The catkins appear together with the leaves in April to May. The cone-like fruit is only 1 cm long and is a paler colour and less woody than that of the common alder. The small-winged fruits are yellow-brown and resemble those of the birch.
It is a high-mountain shrub growing mainly in the Alps and Carpathians, where it forms dense thickets above the tree line at elevations of 1300 to 2200 m; it does not occur in Britain. The Urals and western and central Siberia are the home of a closely related geographical variety. The green alder stands up to abundant shade better than dwarf pine and is found mostly on north-facing, damper slopes. It is of importance in soil retention and prevents the formation of snow and rock avalanches.
Traveller's joy is a climbing shrub attaching itself to the stems and branches of other woody plants with its leaf stalks and growing to a height of 6-8 m. The stem is angular in cross-section and covered with bark that peels off in long strips and may be as much as 2-3 cm thick. The whitish flowers, measuring 2 cm across, bloom in June and July; the achencs ripen in September and October and form heads with whitish feathery plumes. They remain on the bush until late in winter.
This shrub is a native of southern Europe and Asia Minor, growing in warm locations as far north as central Europe and England. It is found in greatest abundance on fresh, fertile soils in riverine woods, on the margins of forests and in shrub thickets. In the neighbourhood of villages it grows on walls and fences.
Widespread throughout most of Europe, its range extends northward as far as the 63rd parallel. In central Europe it grows mostly on the edges of forests, in hedgerows and in open woods up to elevations of 300-600 m. On limestone rock it grows up to elevations of 1000 m. It requires partial sunlight but will grow in drier situations and poorer soil. It yields flexible wood and charcoal. - 15266
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In garden planning, where strong winds disturb warm weather, for instance by the sea, clear garden glass screens will act as a wind break without blocking the view.
