{"id":13608,"date":"2018-08-03T14:11:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T14:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=13608"},"modified":"2026-03-20T22:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:51:17","slug":"mahonia-nervosa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/wetland\/plants\/mahonia-nervosa","title":{"rendered":"Dull Oregon grape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Mahonia nervosa<\/em> \u2013 Dull\/Low Oregon Grape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Morphology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"399\" height=\"1025\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/wetland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/06\/mahonia-nervosa-by-sarah-verlinde-1.png\" alt=\"top: close up or oregon grape. Middle: oregon grape berries. Bottom: cluster of oregon grape\" class=\"wp-image-15773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/wetland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/06\/mahonia-nervosa-by-sarah-verlinde-1.png 399w, https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/wetland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/06\/mahonia-nervosa-by-sarah-verlinde-1-117x300.png 117w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Synonyms (older names): <em>Berberis nervosa<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family: Berberidaceae<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plant Type: evergreen, low-growing shrub<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leaves: Compound leaf (one stem with many leaves) oppositely arranged. Leaflets are glossy and dark green (similar to holly) with a prickly margin (edge). Underside is a lighter green.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notable feature: Leaflets generally do not have a central vein but seems a little off center.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plant Growth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Height: up to 2 feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Distribution and Habitat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Distribution:  Mostly Pacific Coast, California to British Columbia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Habitat:  forests and woods, light sun to mostly shady<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reproduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Flowers\/Fruits:  yellow flowers growing in a columnar cluster. Berries are round and purple-blue with a whitish hue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flowering Season: March &#8211; June<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Generation: Perennial<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Restoration and Conservation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oregon grape is a fairly easy plant to grow and cultivate and makes a great garden or restoration plant, especially for shady areas under trees.  The flowers are yellow and quite fragrant which attracts pollinators during the spring. The berries are a great food source for birds and mammals during the summer and fall.  Since it is an evergreen shrub, it provides foliage cover for small animals during the winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ethnobotany<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Mahonia nervosa<\/em> and <em>M. aquifolium<\/em> contain alkaloid compounds including berberine which has been used for medicinal uses supporting immune health and strong antibacterial properties.  Native Americans harvested and used the sour berries as a food crop and used the roots for yellow dye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References and Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pfaf.org\/user\/plant.aspx?latinname=Mahonia+nervosa\">PFAF: Plants for a future<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/biology.burke.washington.edu\/herbarium\/imagecollection\/taxon.php?Taxon=Mahonia%20nervosa\">WTU Image Herbarium: Mahonia nervosa<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was written by Sarah Verlinde.  For questions regarding the UWB\/CC Plant Tour, contact Sarah at <a href=\"mailto:severlin@uw.edu?subject=UWB\/CC%20Plant%20Tag%20Tour%20Inquiry\">severlin@uw.edu.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mahonia nervosa \u2013 Dull\/Low Oregon Grape Morphology Plant Growth Height: up to 2 feet Distribution and Habitat Reproduction Restoration and Conservation Oregon grape is a fairly easy plant to grow and cultivate and makes a great garden or restoration plant, especially for shady areas under trees. The flowers are yellow and quite fragrant which attracts&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":13590,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13608","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Tyson Kemper","email":"wildhair@uw.edu","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dull Oregon grape - North Creek Wetland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/wetland\/plants\/mahonia-nervosa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dull Oregon grape - North Creek Wetland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mahonia nervosa \u2013 Dull\/Low Oregon Grape Morphology Plant Growth Height: up to 2 feet Distribution and Habitat Reproduction Restoration and Conservation Oregon grape is a fairly easy plant to grow and cultivate and makes a great garden or restoration plant, especially for shady areas under trees. 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