E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Mahonia aquifolium Pursh
tall Oregon-grape (hollyleaved barberry)
Berberidaceae (Barberry family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Mahonia aquifolium
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Introduction

This lovely native evergreen shrub has thick dark green holly-like foliage on stems to about six feet tall. The buds begin to form in winter and open in early spring with bright clusters of yellow flowers. These are followed by deep blue ornamental fruits that mother robins feed to their young in my garden. The yellow pigment derived from the roots of this plant was used as a dye by First Nations peoples of British Columbia.

Note Author: Gary Lewis, Phoenix Perennials

Species Information

General:
Evergreen shrub from a rhizome; stems branched, stoloniferous to stiffly erect, 0.5-2.5 (4.5) m tall; bark and wood yellowish.

Leaves:
Evergreen, hollylike, alternate, pinnate; leaflets usually 5-11, pinnately nerved, more than twice as long as broad, mostly with 12-29 prominent spiny teeth, shiny above but less so beneath.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of clustered racemes 3-8 cm long; flowers yellow, the segments in 6's.

Fruits:
Clustered berries 7-14 mm in diameter, blue, glaucous, with a few large seeds, edible.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Blue
Present over the Summer

Source: The USDA

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

Taxonomic Key to Mahonia

1. Leaflets usually 9-19, palmately nerved.....................................M. nervosa

1. Leaflets usually 3-11, pinnately nerved

2. Leaves more than twice as long as broad, mostly with 12-29 prominent spiny teeth; leaflets 5-11; plants 0.5-4.5 m tall.......................M. aquifolium

2. Leaves less than twice as long as broad, with 15-43 inconspicuous, spiny teeth; leaflets 3-7; plant 0.1--.6 m tall.........................M. repens

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry open or closed forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in S BC; E to AB and S to ID and OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecological Indicator Information

A shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to montane, Western North American evergreen shrub distributed more in the Cordilleran than the Pacific region. Occurs predominantly in continental cool temperate and cool semiarid climates on very dry to moderately dry, nitrogen-medium soils; its occurrence increases with increasing summer drought and continentality. Sporadic in summer-dry mesothermal climates, common in open-canopy Douglas-fir forests in the coast-interior ecotone. Often associated with Agropyron spicatum, Calamagrostis rubescens, and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus. Characteristic of moisture-deficient sites.

Source: Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia (Information applies to coastal locations only)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool temperate & cool semiarid.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
	S5 (2019)	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Berberis aquifolium Pursh
Berberis aquifolium var. aquifolium
Berberis piperiana (Abrams) McMinn
Mahonia piperiana Abrams
Odostemon aquifolium (Pursh) Rydb.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Berberidaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2026-08-08 8:25:47 AM ]

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