Description

Mahonia Nervosa – th’o:lth’iyulhp (Upriver Halkomelem)

Medium small evergreen shrub with blue edible berries.

Height: 0.15-0.6m

Edible: Y

Medicine: Y

Other Uses: Y

Poisonous: N

Soil: Moist with good drainage. Soil should be acidic or at least neutral. Alkaline soils can be problematic.

Watering: Dry to fairly moist

Sun: Full sun to shade; partial shade ideal.

Usually found at: Open to closed forests at low elevation

Pollinators & wildlife: Butterflies, bees, birds

Ornamental: Used for its shiny leaves and because it resembles English holly.

 

Leaves: Clustered, long, alternate, turning reddish or purplish in winter, 9-19 leathery leaflets, shiny, oblong to egg-shaped, several spiny teeth

Flowers: Bright yellow, flower parts in 6s up to 20 cm long. Appears in April/May

Berries: Blue berries, 1 cm across, in elongated clusters, large seeds, edible

First Nations uses: Many First Nations ate the berries especially when mixed with a sweeter berry like Salal. The bark of the stems and roots was shredded to make a bright yellow dye, and the bark and berries were used for medicine for the liver and eyes. Some groups thought that the berries were a very strong antidote for shellfish poisoning.

 

Note: Native plant sales are pick-up only at Suwa’lkh School (1432 Brunette Ave in Coquitlam). Email suwa’lkh@freshroots.ca for more information.