Kingdom Plantae Family Berberidaceae Rank Species | Order Ranunculales Genus Mahonia | |
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Similar Barberry, Mahonia fortunei, Mahonia japonica, Chamaedaphne, Mahonia × media | ||
How to grow leatherleaf mahonia mahonia bealei with detailed description
Mahonia bealei (Beale's barberry) is a shrub native to mainland China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang). The species has sometimes been regarded as the same species as Mahonia japonica, native to Taiwan, but the two differ consistently in certain floral and leaf characters. Both species are widely cultivated in many countries as ornamentals. Mahonia bealei has reportedly escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered places in the southeastern United States from Arkansas to Florida to Delaware.
Mahonia bealei is a shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall. Leaves are up to 50 cm long, with 4-10 [pairs of leaflets, plus a much larger terminal leaflet. Flowers are borne in an erect raceme up to 30 cm long. Berry is egg-shaped, dark purple up to 15 mm long.
