''Mahonia aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the family

Berberidaceae The Berberidaceae are a family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority are in ''Berberis''. The species ...

, native to western North America. It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

growing tall and wide, with

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, an ...

leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

. The berries are included in the diet of some aboriginal peoples of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

, and the species is recognized as the state flower of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Description

''M. aquifolium'' grows to tall by wide. The stems and twigs have a thickened, corky appearance. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are pinnate and up to long, comprising spiny leaflets. The leathery leaves resemble those of

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

. The yellow flowers are borne in dense clusters long in late spring. Each of the six

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...

s, terminates in two spreading branches. The six yellow petals are enclosed by six yellow

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s. At the base of the flower are three greenish-yellow

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...

s, less than half as long as the sepals. The spherical berries are dark dusty-blue and tart in taste.

Chemistry

''Mahonia aquifolium'' contains

5'-methoxyhydnocarpin 5'-Methoxyhydnocarpin (5′-MHC) is a chemical compound that has been isolated from ''Berberis'' and ''Hydnocarpus wightianus''. 5′-MHC potentiates the antimicrobial effect of berberine ''in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the ...

(5'-MHC), a

multidrug resistance pump Multidrug resistance pumps (MDR pumps) also known Multidrug efflux pumps are a type of efflux pump and P-glycoprotein. MDR pumps in the cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and histori ...

inhibitor, which works to decrease bacterial resistance ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology a ...

''.

Taxonomy

Some authors place ''Mahonia'' in the barberry genus, ''

Berberis ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South Amer ...

''.Flora of North America, vol 3
/ref> The Oregon-grape is not related to true

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s, but gets its common name from the purple clusters of berries whose color and slightly dusted appearance are reminiscent of grapes.

Etymology

The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''aquifolium'' denotes "sharp-leafed" (as in ''

Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asi ...

'', the common holly), referring to the spiny foliage. ''M. aquifolium'' is not closely related to either the true holly (''Ilex aquifolium'') or the true grape (''

Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

'').

Distribution and habitat

''M. aquifolium'' is a

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is eq ...

in the North American West from

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, and eastern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

to central

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, often occurring in the understory of

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

forests (although other forest types contain the species) and in brushlands in the Cascades, Rockies, and northern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

Ecology

As with some ''Berberis'', '' × Mahoberberis'', and other '' Mahoniae'' spp., ''M. aquifolium'' can serve as an

alternate host A heteroecious parasite is one that requires at least two hosts. The ''primary host'' is the host in which the parasite spends its adult life; the other is the ''secondary host''. Both hosts are required for the parasite to complete its life cycl ...

for ''Puccinia striiformis'' f. sp. ''tritici'' (the

primary host In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' ( symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples inclu ...

of ''Pst'' being

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

). However, in this case it was only achieved by intentional inoculation in a lab, and it remains unknown whether this occurs naturally. In some areas outside its native range, ''M. aquifolium'' has been classified as an invasive

exotic species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

that may displace native vegetation.

Cultivation

''M. aquifolium'' is a popular subject in shady or woodland plantings. It is valued for its striking foliage and flowers, which often appear before those of other shrubs. It is resistant to summer drought, tolerates poor soils, and does not create excessive leaf litter. Its berries attract birds. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s and hybrids have been developed, of which the following have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

: * ''M.'' × ''wagneri'' 'Pinnacle' (''M. aquifolium'' × '' M. pinnata'') * 'Apollo'

Uses

The small purplish-black fruits, which are quite tart and contain large seeds, are edible raw after the season's first frosts. They were included in small quantities in the traditional diets of

indigenous peoples, mixed with

salal ''Gaultheria shallon'' is an evergreen shrub in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to western North America. In English, it is known as salal, shallon, or (mainly in Britain) gaultheria. Description ''Gaultheria shallon'' is tall, spra ...

or another sweeter fruit. Today, they are sometimes used to make jelly, alone or mixed with salal. Oregon-grape juice can be fermented to make wine, similar to European barberry wine folk traditions, although it requires an unusually high amount of sugar. The inner bark of the larger stems and roots of Oregon grape yield a yellow dye. The berries contain a dye that can be purple, blue, pink, or green depending on the pH of water used to make the dye, due to the berries containing a naturally occurring pH indicator.

Medicinal uses

Some

Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbi ...

use Oregon grape for indigestion. The plant contains

berberine Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids found in such plants as ''Berberis vulgaris'' (barberry), ''Berberis aristata'' (tree turmeric), ''Mahonia aquifolium'' (Oregon grape), ''Hydras ...

and reportedly has

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...

properties similar to those of

goldenseal ''For the magazine from West Virginia see Goldenseal (magazine)'' Goldenseal (''Hydrastis canadensis''), also called orangeroot or yellow puccoon, is a perennial herb in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to North America. It may be di ...

Culture

In 1899, Oregon-grape was recognized as the state flower of

References

External links

* The Oregon Grape in "Our State Flowers: The Floral Emblems Chosen by the Commonwealths", '' The National Geographic Magazine'', XXXI (June 1917), pp. 481–517.
''Mahonia aquifolium'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.eduJepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Berberis aquifolium''Calflora Database: ''Berberis aquifolium'' (Oregon grape, mountain grape)Flora of North America @ efloras.org: ''Berberis aquifolium''
— syn; formerly: ''Mahonia aquifolium''
UC Photos gallery: ''Berberis aquifolium''
from Botanical.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q158303 aquifolium Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Western United States Flora of Alaska Flora of California Symbols of Oregon Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Bird food plants Butterfly food plants Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status