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

Berberis repens
creeping Oregon-grape
Berberidaceae (Barberry family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Berberis 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

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

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Berberis repens

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	75	1223	2142
Slope Gradient (%)	0	34	202
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	5	205	350
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	3	6
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	262
Modal BEC Zone Class	MS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	AT(5), CWH(1), ESSF(38), ICH(14), IDF(43), MS(74), PP(8), SBS(40)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S4S5	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

Mahonia repens (Lindl.) G. Don

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Berberidaceae
Flora North America treatment for Berberis repens
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

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: 2024-12-05 7:40:38 AM ]

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.