I know of a couple of barberries with this feature - 'Gold Ring', which I grew in my old garden and has a loose, somewhat rangy growth habit and 'Admiration', which is a relatively new cultivar with a dense, mounded form and stays pretty compact. Both are Berberis thunbergii cultivars.

Where conditions are moist Japanese barberries come up on their own from seed. Seedlings of purple forms rather often come out with yellow margined leaves, as do those of Buxus sempervirens.

and if that seeded in, you might consider it evidence of barberry's ability to spread by seed with no help from us. Which is why it is on the invasives list in a number of states. Maybe check the NJ list to see if you should be cautious.....