20 Graines Mahonia aquifolium, Berberis aquifolium

Mahonia with holly leaves, Mahonia aquifolium, Berberis Aquifolium |

The Mahonia Faux Houx or Mahonia à leafles de Houx (Berberis Aquifolium Pursh, 1814) is a shrub semi-personal from northern northern -oust of United States (California, Oregon and British Columbia), but it has long been naturalized in Europe Western. Official flower of the state ofOregon, it is also called " Vigne de l'Oregon " in English, Oregon-Grape, because the first settlers made a kind of " wine " with its berries.

20 seeds - Rusticity: - 20 ° C - Cold stratification 3/4 months before sowing

Mahonia aquifolium 004.jpg | Fruits. It is a shrub of 0.5 to 2 meters, at Rhizome tracing, with vigorous and not very branched stems.

His Leaves Imparipennées, at Leaflets Coriaces and shiny, sessiles, whose limbes have thorny teeth resembling those of Houx.

His flowers hermaphrodites yellow, with the smell of honey, fairly small, grouped in racmes dense, appear from March to May and are mature to the end of summer. Their Pollinization is Entomogame. The dissemination is Endozoochore.

The fruit are bays bluish with mature blacks from the middle of the summer. They are edible after cooking, but bitter. It is made up of the Jam1 by collecting the fruits from their maturity (July). The taste is close to that of Cassis2.

• 

  Flowers.

 
• 

  Fruits.

Mahonia is very easy to cultivate. It is rustic up to −20 ° C (USDA Zone 5).

During the SENIS, exposure to light is an essential factor to lift Dormance because Seeds have a “ Photosensitivity  ”(as opposed, negative photosensitivity seeds need darkness to germinate). This is why, during sowing, the seeds of Mahonia must barely be covered.

The Mahonia with holly leaves is sensitive to Rust and sometimes toOïdium.

Young Mahonias must be cut after flowering by pinching the bouquet of terminal leaves to allow the plant to branch. Once adult, the Mahonia no longer requires any size if not the suppression of dead branches and wilted floral stews.

The Holly miner (Phytomyza Ilicis) is one of the rare pest insects attacking Mahonia.

Like theEpine-Vinette (Berberis vulgaris), the whole plant, except the fruits, contains little toxic alkaloids. The fruits are non -toxic. In high doses (more than 10-20 bays), they would only lead to light digestive disorders.

Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA license 3.0. Source : Article Berberis Aquifolium by Wikipedia in French (Authors)