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

Mahonia repens Lindley
creeping Oregon-grape (creeping barberry)
Berberidaceae (Barberry family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Mahonia repens
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Species Information

General:
Evergreen shrub from a rhizome; stems branched, more or less procumbent, widely stoloniferous, 15-100 cm tall; bark and wood yellowish.

Leaves:
Evergreen, hollylike, alternate, pinnate; leaflets 3-7, pinnately nerved, less than twice as long as broad, with 15-43 inconspicuous spiny teeth.

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

Fruits:
Clustered berries 8-14 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:
Mid Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Blue
Present from Summer to Fall

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

Dry rocky slopes and open forests in the steppe and montane zones; common in SE BC, rare in C and SC BC; E to AB and S to SD, TX, NM, NV and NE CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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 not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
	S4S5 (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 amplectens (Eastw.) L.C. Wheeler
Berberis aquifolium var. repens (Lindl.) Scoggan
Berberis pumila Greene
Berberis repens Lindl.
Berberis sonnei (Abrams) McMinn
Mahonia amplectens Eastw.
Mahonia pumila (Greene) Fedde
Mahonia sonnei Abrams
Odostemon pumilus (Greene) A. Heller
Odostemon repens (Lindl.) Cockerell

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: 2026-09-08 5:20:40 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.