Mahonia

Mahonia is a genus of about 70 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Berberidaceae, native to East Asia, the Himalaya, western North America and Central America. They are closely related to the genus Berberis, and included within that genus by some botanists; they are distinguished from Berberis by their large, pinnate leaves 10–50 cm long with 5–15 leaflets, and flowers in longer (5–20 cm long) racemes.

The type species of the genus is Mahonia aquifolium, the Oregon-grape from the Pacific coast of North America.

Several are popular garden shrubs, grown for their ornamental leaves, yellow flowers in winter, and blue-black berries. The berries are edible, and rich in vitamin C, though with a very sharp flavour.