NC INVASIVE PLANT COUNCIL
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Leatherleaf Mahonia

Berberis (Mahonia) bealei
Leatherleaf mahonia (Berberis or Mahonia bealei) is a large evergreen shrub with leathery holly-like leaves which usually grows in a multi-stemmed clump. Native to western China, it was introduced into the United States as an ornamental garden plant, escaping into natural habitat in many southeastern states.

​Leatherleaf mahonia often grows about waist-high but can grow up to 10 feet in height.   Its branch tips and inner roots are bright yellow, while its older branches and trunk are covered in thin tannish-gray bark.   The oddly pinnate compound leaves are composed of 9 to 13 holly-like leaflets which grow along purplish leaf stalks.   Flowering occurs in January to April with fragrant, yellow flowers.   Flowers are followed by waxy green fruits, which mature in late spring and early summer to blue-black egg-shaped fruits hanging in grape-like clusters. The fruit is attractive to birds, which allows this shrub to spread and naturalize. In North Carolina, it has been observed in the Mountains and the Piedmont, and infrequently in the Coastal Plain.
Fact Sheet: Leatherleaf Mahonia
Picture
Photo Credit: Nancy Loewenstein, Auburn University, Bugwood.org
Picture
Photo Credit: John Ruter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
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  • Home
  • About
    • Donate
    • Invasives 101
    • Membership
    • Board of Directors >
      • NC-IPC ByLaws
    • Contact
    • Listserve
  • News
    • Iverson Scholarship
    • Wildland Weeds Magazine
    • Calendar >
      • 2018 Workshop
  • NC Invasive Plants
    • Ailanthus Altissima (Tree-of-Heaven)
    • Elaeagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive)
    • Ficaria verna (Fig Buttercup)
    • Imperata cylindrica (Cogongrass)
    • Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet)
    • Ligustrum vulgare (Wild Privet)
    • Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle)
    • Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stilt Grass)
    • Nandina domestica
    • Nymphoides indica (water snowflake)
    • Paulownia tomentosa (Princess Tree)
    • Persicaria perfoliata (Mile-A-Minute Vine)
    • Pueraria montana (Kudzu)
    • Pyrus calleryana (Bradford Pear)
  • Annual Symposiums
    • 2022 Joint Symposium >
      • 2022 Speaker Presentations
    • 2021 Virtual Conference
    • 2019 Joint Symposium >
      • 2019 Presentations
    • 2018 Annual Symposium
    • 2017 Annual Symposium
    • 2016 Annual Symposium >
      • 2016 agenda
    • 2015 Annual Symposium >
      • 2015 Presentations
      • 2015 Agenda
  • Projects
    • Fig Buttercup Project
    • Eno River Hydrilla Project
    • Awareness Week
  • Awards
    • 2015 Student Competition Winners
    • 2015 EIA Award
    • 2014 EIA Award