Mahonia bealei

Mahonia bealei, also known as Beale's barberry[4], or Oregon grape[5], is an evergreen[6] shrub native to mainland China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang).[3] The species has sometimes been regarded as the same species as Mahonia japonica, native to Taiwan, but the two differ consistently in certain floral and leaf characters. Both species are widely cultivated in many countries as ornamentals. Mahonia bealei has reportedly escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered places in the southeastern United States from Arkansas to Florida to Delaware.[7][8]

Leatherleaf mahonia
阔叶十大功劳
kuo ye shi da gong lao
Berries
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Berberidaceae
Genus: Mahonia
Species:
M. bealei
Binomial name
Mahonia bealei
Synonyms[1][2][3]
  • Berberis bealei Fortune
  • Berberis bealei var. planifolia Hook.f.
  • Mahonia bealei (Fortune) Carrière
  • Mahonia bealei var. planifolia (Hook.f.) Ahrendt
  • Mahonia japonica var. bealei (Fortune) Fedde
  • Mahonia japonica var. planifolia (Hook.f.) H.Lév.

Mahonia bealei is a shrub or small tree up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall. Leaves are up to 50 cm long, with 4–10 pairs of leaflets, plus a much larger terminal leaflet. Flowers are borne in an erect raceme up to 30 cm long. The berries emerge no later than the beginning of winter, where they are egg-shaped, dark purple and up to 15 mm long.[3][9][10][11][6]

First collected in China (Anhui) by Robert Fortune, the plants were taken to Shanghai, where they were lodged in the garden of Mr Beale to await transportation to Europe. Fortune named the species after Beale in an issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle and was sure it was a distinct species, separate from Mahonia japonica.[11] However, Chronicle editor John Lindley, was unconvinced and repeatedly referred to the new species as Berberis (Mahonia) japonica.[12] The confusion between M. japonica and M. bealei is reflected in subsequent literature, with the latter referred to variously as M. japonica var. bealei, M. japonica ‘Bealei’ or M. japonica Bealei Group. Plants labelled as M. bealei with silver undersides to the leaves have been recognized as the cultivar 'Silver Back', though the original Fortune plants lack this silver colouration; 'Silver Back' may represent a different species.

Uses

The berries are edible, but due to their high acidity they are almost as sour as lemons. The berries can be used as a good addition to jams to make them sweeter and darker.[13]

References
  1. Tropicos
  2. The Plant List
  3. Flora of China v 19 p 778, Mahonia bealei
  4. "Mahonia bealei". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. "Berberis bealei (Leatherleaf Mahonia, Oregon Grape) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  6. Sarazin, Andreas. "Beals Mahonie - Mahonia bealei (Berberidaceae)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Biota of North America Program
  8. Flora of North America vol 3, Berberis bealei
  9. Carrière, Élie Abel. 1855. Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe 10: 166 Mahonia bealei
  10. Fedde, Friedrich Karl Georg. 1901. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 31(1): 119–120, Mahonia japonica var. bealei
  11. Fortune, Robert (1850). "Notes of a traveller – No. X." Gardeners' Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette. 1850: 212 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  12. Bayton, Ross (2017). "The identity of Mahonia japonica". The Plantsman (New Series). 16 (4): 244–248.
  13. Sarazin, Andreas. "Beals Mahonie - Mahonia bealei (Berberidaceae)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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