{"id":2908,"date":"2025-01-29T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourism.oregonstate.edu\/?p=2908"},"modified":"2023-07-17T12:00:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T19:00:13","slug":"oregon-grape-berberis-aquifolium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/oregon-grape-berberis-aquifolium\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Neither a grape or a holly be\u2026
This evergreen is not a tree.\u00a0
The spike and point to clusters yellow,
Makes the fruit a favorite fellow.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon grape became our State Flower in 1899. Choosing a favorite from so many beauties must have been difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Oregon Grape flower and leaves (image courtesy of Oregon State University, Landscape)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

State flowers provide a way to showcase abundance, beauty, historical significance, feelings, and economic prowess. Oregon grape was chosen to represent beauty and abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Oregon Grape?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The common plant name suggests that this plant is a grape. It is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Grape is a woody evergreen shrub under the Berberis Barberry<\/em> family. Barberry shrubs are common in many Pacific Northwest landscapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Found?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Grape grows in Southeast Alaska, east into Alberta, Canada, and south into central New Mexico. It often grows in Douglas-fir forests common in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clusters of bright yellow flowers makes this plant easy to identify in the early spring. In the fall, the plant produces a crop of small, purple-ish-black grape-shaped fruit. The fruit is bitter, but edible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Oregon Grape flower close up (image courtesy of Oregon State University, Landscape)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not a Holly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The dark green, glossy holly-like leaflets have sharp spines and can reach 12-inches in length. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not closely related to a holly. Like a holly, this plant will tolerate poor soils, resist summer drought, and create minimal leaf litter. It rarely grows over four feet tall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shiny leaves are usually a sign that a plant will resist wilting making them attractive to florists. Depending on the variety (and there are several), the leaf color may shift in the fall to more of a purple-ish tint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Loves Ya?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Birds love the berries, along with the bees and butterflies. Berries can be used to make juice, jelly, jam, and wine. Note<\/strong>: The berries are quite tart and have large seeds. Berries are best eaten after the first frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous people used the inner bark and roots to make yellow dye; berries make a purple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Medicines for stomach ailments and fighting bacterial\/fungal infections have been made from rhizomes. There is even documentation show it might help with psoriasis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Uses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Oregon Grape is deer resistant. The sharp spiny leaves make formidable natural barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plant does not require regular fertilization. A bit of compost over the root zone will help it retain moisture and reduce weeds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oregon Grape provided much utility for pioneering families and indigenous peoples in our area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

REFERENCE<\/strong>:
–World Atlas, What is the State Flower of Oregon<\/em>? (https:\/\/www.worldatlas.com\/articles\/what-is-the-state-flower-of-oregon.html<\/a>)
–Oregon State University, Landscape Plants (https:\/\/landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu\/plants\/mahonia-aquifolium<\/a>)
–Web MD (https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/vitamins\/ai\/ingredientmono-493\/oregon-grape)\u00a0\u00a0
–Wikipedia, Oregon Grape (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mahonia_aquifolium and\u00a0 Berberis_aquifolium)
–Britannica Encyclopedia, Oregon Grape (https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/plant\/Oregon-grape)
–Oregon Grape-Holly Care (https:\/\/www.gardeningknowhow.com\/ornamental\/shrubs\/mahonia\/grape-holly-plant-care.htm)
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neither a grape or a holly be\u2026This evergreen is not a tree.\u00a0The spike and point to clusters yellow,Makes the fruit a favorite fellow. Oregon grape became our State Flower in 1899. Choosing a favorite from so many beauties must have been difficult. State flowers provide a way to showcase abundance, beauty, historical significance, feelings, and… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10463,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362719],"tags":[1362871,1362739],"class_list":["post-2908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flora","tag-drought-tolerant","tag-edible"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10463"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2911,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions\/2911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}