Berberis and Mahonia

Here's a shot of the desert scrub outside of Sedona, taken during the jeep tour I mentioned in previous posts.  Exploring the desert plants growing here was a delight -- some were familiar, like the prickly pear and mesquite, some were new, like pinyon pine.  Other plants straddled between the two categories - they were vaguely familiar and in some cases I was able to make a guess at their genus or family.

This scrubby plant below was one such specimen.  The pinnately compound, waxy leaves reminded me immediately of Mahonia and when I returned to the East Coast, my bag a bit heavier due to a load of plant books I had bought, I started researching.

Indeed, the plant is in the same family as Mahonia but is actually Berberis haematocarpa, or red barberry.  Both genera exist in the Berberidaceae family, though the leaf reminded me far more of Mahonia.  One supposes that the structure of the small yellow flowers, which bloom from February until April, are genetically more similar to Berberis and that is why they are grouped as such.

 

After the plant flowers, small purple berries form and are evidently quite tasty.  They are quickly eaten by birds and small mammals but if leftovers exist they are often used to make jellies.  The plant has never been 'domesticated' however, because it is a secondary host for black stem rust, a disease that affects grains. 

Back on the East Coast, in Central Park Zoo, we have the more refined looking Mahonia, possibly M. x media or M. aquifolium.  Commonly called Oregon grapeholly, the plant (the straight species, that is, not the hybrid) was discovered by Louis Lewis* and Clark during their expedition of the Pacific Northwest.  The plant is similar to the red barberry, not only in leaf type but in flower color and fruit as well.  However, the fruit on Oregon grapeholly, as the common name would suggest, are larger and look like concord grapes.
 

It is puzzling why the Arizonan plant is classified as Berberis considering how much more it looks like Mahonia.  Chances are you are familiar with other species of Berberis: B. thunbergii and B. julianae, though I would be hard-pressed to endorse the use of either; the former being invasive and the latter being prohibitively thorny.  

*Oof.  How embarrassing.