creeping mahonia
Berberis repens
The roots of this plant contain berberine, a bright yellow compound historically used by Indigenous peoples as a natural dye for baskets and woven items.
- Scientific name
- Berberis repens
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ranunculales › Berberidaceae › Berberis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Coniferous forests, oak woodlands, rocky foothills, and dry mountain slopes.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, Pacific Northwest, Western Canada
- Size
- 10 to 30 cm tall, spreading via underground runners to cover several meters.
- Lifespan
- Clonal rhizome systems can live for decades (30+ years), while individual above-ground stems live 5-10 years.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, displacement by invasive weeds, and overly frequent high-severity wildfires.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely observe and touch this plant, though its holly-like leaves have sharp points that can prick bare skin. The dusty-blue berries are edible but extremely sour; do not consume them in large quantities as the alkaloid berberine may cause mild stomach discomfort.
Mahonia repens commonly known as creeping mahonia , creeping Oregon grape , creeping barberry , or prostrate barberry , is a species of Mahonia native to the Rocky Mountains and westward areas of North America, from British Columbia and Alberta in the north through Arizona and New Mexico, then into northwest Mexico by some reports. It is also found in many areas of California and the Great Basin region in Nevada.
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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