Mahonia aquifolium Seeds | Oregon Grape

Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) with glossy holly-like leaves and clusters of yellow spring flowers — Oregon Grape (*Mahonia aquifolium*): Berberidaceae, an evergreen shade shrub of the Pacific Northwest with berberine-rich roots.

LATIN NAME: Mahonia aquifolium

COMMON NAME: Oregon Grape

Plant Profile

Oregon Grape is a low, suckering evergreen shrub of the barberry family, one to two metres tall, with pinnate leaves whose leaflets are holly-like, glossy and bronze when young. In early spring it carries dense spikes of yellow flowers, followed by blue berries with a heavy bloom.

It comes from the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia down through Oregon into northern California, where it grows in the shade of conifers on acid, well-drained soil. It is the state flower of Oregon, and it is one of the few broadleaved evergreens that will flower happily under trees. The leaves stay green through winter and take on a wine-red tint in cold weather.

Science & Biotechnology

The genus has been absorbed into Berberis on molecular evidence, so the plant is now correctly Berberis aquifolium, though horticulture has been slow to follow. The leaves are compound and spine-toothed, a shape that is best read as defence against browsing rather than as a mimicry of holly.

The root bark is rich in berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid with a long record in both Western and Chinese medicine, and the plant has been studied for antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. Berberine is poorly absorbed from the gut, which is why research has concentrated on its effects within the digestive tract.

Uses & Benefits

The berries are tart and seedy, best cooked and strained into jelly, and they carry enough vitamin C to have served as a scurvy remedy on the fur trade routes. They ripen unevenly over several weeks, so pick them in two or three passes. The root is the medicinal part, used as a bitter tonic and as a wash for skin complaints.

In the garden it is a workhorse: shade-tolerant, drought-tolerant once established, evergreen, and useful for holding a bank. It spreads by underground stems and can become a thicket, which is either a virtue or a nuisance depending on where it is planted.

Growing from Seed

Clean the seed from the berries and stratify it. A warm period of eight weeks at twenty degrees followed by twelve weeks at three degrees gives the most even results; surface-sow in spring onto a lime-free mix and keep it shaded and moist.

Seedlings are slow for the first year, then steady. Grow them on in pots for two seasons before planting out, and choose a position in shade or half shade with reasonable drainage. Cut the oldest stems to the base every few years to keep the thicket young and the flowering heavy. Water young plants through their first two summers, then leave them to it.

Our Take

A shrub that earns its place in the shade, with a second career in the herb garden. The seed needs patience but no skill. It also makes a low hedge along a shady path, where the yellow flowers and the blue fruit do the work of two plants. Pick the berries before the birds strip them.

Herb Seeds