genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of approximately 70 species of
shrub
A shrub or 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 trees by their multiple ...
s or, rarely, small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s with
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...
leaves in the family
Berberidaceae
The Berberidaceae are a family (biology), family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order (biology), order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority ...
, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North America, and Central America. They are closely related to the 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 America a ...
'' and as of 2023 the majority of botanical sources list it as a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
for ''Berberis.''
However, there is still disagreement among botanists, and as recently as 2017 papers have been published arguing for the validity of the genus. In addition, sources that are updated less frequently like the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...
PLANTS database have many plants listed in ''Mahonia''.
Most botanists prefer to classify ''Mahonia'' as a part of ''Berberis'' because several species in both genera are able to hybridize, and because there are no consistent morphological differences between the two groups other than the leaf
pinnation
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, and ...
(''Berberis sensu stricto'' appear to have simple leaves, but these are in reality compound with a single leaflet and are termed "unifoliolate"; additionally their branched spines are modified compound leaves). However, recent
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
-based
phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...
studies retain the two separate
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
, by clarifying that unifoliolate-leaved ''Berberis s.s.'' is derived from within a
paraphyletic
Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...
group of shrubs bearing imparipinnate evergreen leaves, which are then divided into three genera: ''Mahonia'', '' Alloberberis'' (formerly ''Mahonia'' section ''Horridae''), and '' Moranothamnus'' (formerly ''Berberis claireae''); a broadly-circumscribed ''Berberis'' (that is, including ''Mahonia'', ''Alloberberis'', and ''Moranothamnus'') would also be
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
.
''Mahonia'' species bear pinnate
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
long with 3 to 15 leaflets, and
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s in
raceme
A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
s which are long. Several species are popular
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
shrubs, grown for their ornamental, often spiny, evergreen foliage, yellow (or rarely red) flowers in autumn, winter and early spring, and blue-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 fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...
. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters or spreading racemes, and may be among the earliest flowers to appear in the growing season. The ripened fruits are acidic with a very sharp flavor. The plants contain
berberine
Berberine is a Quaternary ammonium cation, quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, occurring naturally as a secondary metabolite in some plants including species of ''Berberis'', from which its name ...
, a compound found in many ''Berberis'' and ''Mahonia'' species which causes vomiting, lowered blood pressure, reduced heart rate, lethargy, and other ill effects when consumed.
The genus name, ''Mahonia'', derives from
Bernard McMahon
Bernard McMahon or M'Mahon (Ireland ca 1775 — Philadelphia, 18 September 1816) was an Irish-American horticulturist settled in Philadelphia, who served as one of the stewards of the plant collections from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and was ...
, one of the stewards of the plant collections from the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
. The type species of the genus is '' M. aquifolium''.
Species
The following list includes all species of the genus ''Mahonia'' that were accepted by
Tropicos
Tropicos is an online botanical database containing taxonomic information on plants, mainly from the Neotropical realm ( Central, and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Sou ...
, Missouri Botanical Garden in 2016. For each, binomial name is followed by author citation.
*''
Mahonia aquifolium
''Berberis aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae. It is an evergreen shrub growing up to tall and wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leafle ...
'' (Pursh) Nutt.
*''
Mahonia bealei
''Berberis bealei'', also known as leatherleaf mahonia, Beale's barberry, is a species of evergreen shrub native to mainland China. The species has been regarded as the same species as '' Berberis japonica'', native to Taiwan, but the two diffe ...
'' (Fortune) Carrière
*''
Mahonia bodinieri
''Berberis elegans'' is a shrub in the Berberidaceae described as a species in 1908.Gagnepain, François. 1908. Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 55: 85 It is endemic to China, found in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hu ...
'' Gagnep.
*''
Mahonia bracteolata
''Berberis bracteolata'' is a shrub in the Berberidaceae described as a species in 1917. It is endemic to China, known from Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.
Taxonomy
''Berberis bracteolata'' was initially scientifically described and named ''Mahon ...
Mahonia duclouxiana
''Berberis napaulensis'' is a shrub in the family Berberidaceae described as a species in 1821. It is native to China (Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan) and the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Assam, Myanmar). This species is used medicinal ...
Mahonia fremontii
''Berberis fremontii'' is a species of barberry known by the common name Frémont's mahonia (after John C. Frémont).
Description
''Berberis fremontii'' is an erect evergreen shrub growing up to 4.5 meters tall. The leaves are several centimeter ...
Mahonia nervosa
''Berberis nervosa'', commonly known as dwarf Oregon-grape, Cascade barberry, Cascade Oregon-grape, or dull Oregon-grape, is a North American flowering plant.
Description
It is an evergreen shrub with short vertical stems, mostly less than , w ...
Mahonia trifoliolata
''Berberis trifoliolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, in southwestern North America. Common names include agarita, agrito, algerita, currant-of-Texas, wild currant, and chaparral berry. The name Agarita comes fro ...
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 cyc ...
s for the
cereal
A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...
File:Mahonia Golden Abundance 038.jpg, ''Ripe fruits of Mahonia'' 'Golden Abundance'
File:Fruits of Mahonia lomariifolia, Luther Burbank Home and Gardens.jpg, Immature fruits of '' Mahonia oiwakensis subsp. lomariifolia''
File:Mahonia oiwakensis.jpg, ''
Mahonia oiwakensis
''Berberis oiwakensis'' is a species of plant in the barberry family, Berberidaceae. It is native to Taiwan, China (Guizhou, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet) and Yunnan) and Myanmar, where it occurs at elevations of 600 to 3800 m.Mahonia aquifolium
''Berberis aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae. It is an evergreen shrub growing up to tall and wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leafle ...