OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Berberis bealei

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 077-02-001:

Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae

 

COMMON NAME:
Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm160103_126

January    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm160103_128

January    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

Flowers yellow with three whorls of sepals and one whorl of petals, per Flora of China.

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm0403q_34

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm0403q_35

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

A clumsy, upright, coarse, evergreen shrub growing 6-10'(12) high, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm160311_212

March    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm160311_221

March    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm0404zc_20

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Fruit is a bluish berry maturing in July-August, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm0504c_12

April    Greenville County    SC

Naturalizing widely (and increasingly aggressively) in the southeastern United States, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm0504f_35

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    s040429_ab

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Leaflet blades with 2-7 teeth per side; leaflets very thick and stiff, per Weakley's Flora (2012).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE pinnately compound leaves of shrubs

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm061126_024

November    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm061126_033

November    Greenville County    SC

Axillary racemes of bright yellow flowers, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm151212_056

December    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm151212_058

December    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

JK Marlow    jkm151212_059

December    Greenville County    SC

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org    bug_5397262

Month Unknown        Hungary

Leaflets sessile on the rachis, which appears jointed, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org    bug_5398955

Month Unknown        Hungary

image of Mahonia bealei, Leatherleaf Mahonia, Chinese Mahonia, Holly-grape

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5421954

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Berberis bealei

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 077-02-001:
Mahonia bealei   FAMILY Berberidaceae

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

902

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: In deciduous forests in suburban areas, spread from plantings, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: China

Common in Piedmont & SC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaflet margins spiny

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Odd-pinnately compound: 9-13(15) leaflets
Alternate

FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
3-merous
6 sepals
6 petals
6 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

Flowers in axillary racemes

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Blue
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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