Index / Search / Mahonia repens

§1 Plant — species · Berberidaceae

Mahonia repens (Lindl.) G. Don

vernacular creeping barberry


USDA
MARE11
GBIF
3033850
Rank
species
creeping barberry (Mahonia repens)
Platephotograph · Matt LavinCC BY-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and 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

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
Low
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
High
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
Medium
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-23 °F minimum
Frost-free days
180 min.
Precipitation
15–45 in/yr
pH range
5.5–7.5
Root depth
10 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Stoloniferous
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
2 ft
Height @ 20 y
2 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
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
66,560
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
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 31 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/MARE11 ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/3033850 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z