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Mahonia nevinii

(Nevin's Barberry)

Overview

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Threatened

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Nevin's Barberry

Description

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Family Berberidaceae

Herbs or shrubs [trees ], perennial , evergreen or deciduous, sometimes rhizomatous . Stems with or without spines. Leaves alternate, opposite, or fascicled, simple , 2-3-foliolate, or 1-3-pinnately or 2-3(-4) -ternately compound ; stipules present or absent; venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary , racemes , cymes, umbels (or umbel-like), spikes, or panicles, or flowers solitary or in pairs, flowers pedicellate or sessile. Flowers bisexual , inconspicuous or showy, radially symmetric ; stipitate glands absent (except in Vancouveria ) ; sepaloid bracteoles 0-9; perianth sometimes absent ( Achlys ), more frequently present, 2- or 3-merous, or sepals and petals intergrading ( Nandis ) ; sepals 6, distinct , often petaloid and colored , not spurred ; petals 6-9, distinct, plane or hooded ; nectary present; stamens 6; anthers dehiscing by valves or longitudinal slits; ovary superior, apparently 1-carpellate; placentation marginal or appearing basal; style present or absent, sometimes persistent in fruit as beak . Fruits follicles, berries , or utricles. Seeds 1-50, sometimes arillate ; endosperm abundant; embryo large or small; mature seeds elevated on elongating stalk in Caulophyllum.

Genera 15, species ca. 650 (8 genera, 33 species in the flora ) : widespread, well represented in the north temperate zone.

Berberidaceae presents several interesting biogeographic features. Achlys is disjunct from western North America to east Asia with few morphologic differences between taxa. Diphylleia, Jeffersonia, and Podophyllum, each with a single eastern North American species, exhibit wide disjunctions to east Asia. Caulophyllum has three species, one in east Asia and two in the flora. Vancouveria is endemic to northwestern United States with nearest relations to Epimedium Linnaeus (H. Loconte and J. R. Estes 1989b; W. T. Stearn 1938), an exclusively Eastern Hemisphere genus.

Nandina, Berberis, Epimedium, and Podophyllum are cultivated.

The perianth of Berberidaceae is commonly composed of three distinct types of organs, but terminology for the organs varies from author to author. In our treatment, we refer to the small, outer parts as bracteoles (collectively forming a calyculus) ; the large, middle parts as sepals; and the innermost parts, which are commonly nectariferous , as petals. Some authors have referred to the bracteoles as outer sepals and to the petals as staminodes.[1]

Genus Mahonia

Evergreen , unarmed shrubs , similar to the genus Berberis L., but leaves pinnately compound and inflorescence mostly a fascicle of dense spike-like racemes .

About 100 species, mostly in E. and S.E. Asia, N. and C. America; represented here by 1 species.[2]

Physical Description

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February. • Flower Color: pale yellow, yellow

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Habitat

Nevin’s barberry is found in coarse soils and rocky slopes in chaparral and gravelly wash margins in alluvial scrub (Niehaus 1977; Boyd 1987).

Biology

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Reproduction

The racemes of yellow flowers bloom from March through April (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998). Seed production for Nevin’s barberry is sporadic and fertility has been observed to be low (Boyd 1987). In cultivation studies, the reproductive success rate is observed to be low (Mistretta 1989). Nevin’s barberry is able to stump sprout following a wildfire (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998) but vegetative propagation has not been successful in cultivation (Mistretta 1989).

Dispersal : The juicy berries are yellow to red (Munz 1974; Whittemore 1997; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998). The seeds may be dispersed by animals: various birds have been observed eating the juicy berries (Wolf 1940).

Growth

Culture: Space 6-8' apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Berberis nevinii A.Gray • Berberis nevinii Gray • Odostemon nevinii (Gray) Abrams

Notes

Publishing author : Fedde Publication : Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 31: 102 1901

Similar Species

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Genetics: The genus Berberis includes two distinct subgenera: Mahonia and Berberis. Mahonia is recognized by some authors (e.g., Abrams 1934) as a separate genus. The subgenera Berberis and Mahonia are separated based on characters such as spineless/spiny stems, compound/simple leaves and susceptibility to black stem-rust of wheat (Puccinia graminis). Nevin’s barberry is traditionally included in the subgenus Mahonia. Mahonia, although recognized in horticultural works as a distinct genus, is seldom recognized by botanists (Whittemore 1997).

Members of the genus Mahonia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 28 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. aquifolium (Holly-Leaved Barberry) · M. aquifolium aquifolium (Hollyleaf Barberry) · M. aquifolium var. juglandifolia (Hollyleaved Barberry) · M. aquifolium 'Compacta' (Compact Oregon Grape Holly) · M. aquifolium 'Golden Abundance' (Holly-Leaved Barberry) · M. bealei (Beale's Barberry) · M. dictyota (California Oregongrape) · M. fortunei (Chinese Mahonia) · M. fremontii (Algerita) · M. haematocarpa (Colorado Mahonia) · M. japonica var. bealei (Leatherleaf Mahonia) · M. japonica 'Hivernant' (Japanese Mahonia) · M. lomariifolia (Chinese Holly Grape) · M. nervosa (Cascade Barberry) · M. nervosa var. nervosa (Cascade Oregongrape) · M. nervosa var. nervosa (Pursh) Nutt. (Cascade Oregongrape) · M. nevinii (Nevin's Barberry) · M. pinnata (Grape Holly) · M. pinnata insularis (Island Barberry) · M. pinnata pinnata (California Barberry) · M. pinnata subsp. insularis (Island Barberry) · M. repens (Creeping Barberry) · M. siamensis (Siam Hollygrape) · M. swaseyi (Texas Barberry) · M. trifoliolata (Agarita) · M. x media 'Arthur Menzies' (Arthur Menzies Mahonia) · M. x media 'Buckland' (Mahonia) · M. x media 'Charity' (Mahonia)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Whetstone, R. David, T. A. Atkinson and Daniel D. Spaulding "Berberidaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Mahonia". in Flora of Pakistan Page 2. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012