This variety only differs from the mother species in having its foliage be purplish-red the whole growing season. It is not sold very much anymore, as a number of other more dwarf or compact cultivars with red foliage are used a lot instead. As I wrote about the green Japanese Barberry, I have never loved it as it is so nasty to touch or work around with all its many sharp thorns. Unless it is properly pruned with hand pruners, it eventually becomes a dense, great mess and mass of stems and twigs and becomes ugly. It hurts to try to prune this species or the cultivars to keep them looking good, despite gloves and clothing. It bears the football-shaped orange berries in late summer into winter that are eaten by some birds, which spread the seed around so that it becomes an invasive plant in and around woods, the seedlings returning to the green mother species form.

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