Mahonia aquifolium

Oregon grape
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Berberidaceae
Genus:	Mahonia
Species:	M. aquifolium
Binomial name
Mahonia aquifolium (Pursh) Nutt.
Synonyms
Berberis aquifolium Pursh Berberis aquifolium var. juglandifolia Rehder Berberis fascicularis Sims Berberis fasciculata Schult. & Schult.f. Berberis pinnata Banks ex DC. Mahonia diversifolia Sweet Odostemon aquifolium (Pursh) Rydb.

Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium) is commonly found growing wild (or as landscaping) in the Pacific Northwest. Unrelated to the grape, it is named for the resemblance to grapes of its small, dark-blue, sour fruits.

The fruits are somewhat unpleasant to eat because they are quite sour until they reach the mushy/shriveled stage of ripeness, and at that point they lose some of their characteristic flavor. They are also filled with seeds. The taste resembles a sour and musky/foxy grape.

The roots are said to have medicinal properties.

Acknowledgements

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Mahonia aquifolium, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.