Mahonia aquifolium (Pursh) Nutt.

vernacular hollyleaved barberry — species · Berberidaceae

USDA: MAAQ2
GBIF: 3033865
Rank: species

hollyleaved barberry (Mahonia aquifolium) — Platephotograph · no rights reservedCC0 · public domain source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Berberidaceae Juss.
Genus: Mahonia

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Low
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: Low
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -43 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 170 min.
Precipitation: 20–45 in/yr
pH range: 5–8
Root depth: 20 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Rhizomatous
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 8 ft
Height @ 20 y: 8 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Blue
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: Low
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 33,000
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 3 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/MAAQ2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3033865 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z