barberry

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various shrubs of the genus Berberis having leaves that are often clustered, small yellow flowers, and red, orange, or blackish berries. They are grown as specimen or hedge plants.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A shrub of the genus Berberis, B. vulgaris, bearing racemes of yellow ill-smelling flowers, which produce red elongated berries of a pleasantly acid flavor, a native of Europe and extensively naturalized in New England. From the root of the barberry a yellow coloring matter is obtained, which when rendered brown by alkalis is used in the manufacture of morocco leather. In England also called pepperidge or piprage. See Berberis.
2. n. The fruit of this shrub.

Wiktionary

1. n. A thorny shrub that bears yellow flowers and red or blue-black berries.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bot.) A shrub of the genus Berberis, common along roadsides and in neglected fields. Berberis vulgaris is the species best known; its oblong red berries are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the root.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any of numerous plants of the genus Berberis having prickly stems and yellow flowers followed by small red berries