Creeping mahonia

Mahonia repens

Summary 6

Mahonia repens (commonly known as creeping mahonia, creeping Oregon grape, creeping barberry, or prostrate barberry) is a plant native to the Rocky Mountains and now stretches from British Columbia to New Mexico and Arizona. Like others in the genus Mahonia , this plant produces many matte blue berries that while edible are known to be very bitter. It is a hearty plant that grows with significant ground coverage and is popular with landscape designers.

Botanical Information 7

The creeping mahonia is a plant that grows in the Middle Rio Grande bosque and other locations. The plant has diamond shaped leaves. It can grow to be 10 cm tall, depending on the water and shade and sun it gets.

Ecological Information 8

Wildlife can eat the berries on the plant. This plant grows best in the shade.

Ethnobotanical Information 8

Creeping mahonia a medicinal plant that helps fight infections.

References 8

About the Author 8

Student author(s)*: Marisol (age 13) from South Valley Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/35478170@N08/3626416094
  2. (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/7154230661/
  3. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/44489104770/
  4. (c) Tony Frates, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyfrates/5694894634/
  5. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/18191539422/
  6. Adapted by caseynm from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberis_repens
  7. Adapted by smiller33 from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
  8. (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

Color yellow
Berry purple
Uses edible, medicinal