Article Nº 0203 Plant Vol. I · p. 123
Madeiran barberry (Berberis maderensis)
Original title: Ameixieira de espinho (Berberis maderensis)
Madeiran barberry, a yellow-flowered spiny shrub found in modern times only in the Serra dos Balcões, whose yellow wood (fustete) is prized for inlay work.
A shrub of the family Berberidaceae, 1 m to 1.5 m tall, with three-parted spines and fascicled leaves, subspatulate or subobovate, entire or serrate-spiny; yellow flowers gathered in racemes. In modern times it has been found only in the Serra dos Balcões (‘uplands of the balconies’). The wood of this shrub, called fustete, has a beautiful yellow colour and is much prized in cabinet-making, especially for inlaid work (embutidos).
Places mentioned