Berberis aquifolium is an evergreen shrub in the family Berberidaceae that is native to rocky woods and coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to northern California.
This plant is known by a large variety of different common names including Oregon hollygrape, Oregon grapeholly or Oregon grape. This is a suckering, evergreen shrub with a spreading to upright habit that typically grows 3-6’ tall and to 5’ wide, although it can be trained to grow taller. It is noted for its yellow flowers in spring, edible blue-black berries in late summer, pinnately compound evergreen foliage and ability to grow well in shade. Each compound leaf (to 10” long) typically has 5-9 spiny, ovate to oblong-ovate leaflets (each to 3” long). New leaves emerge red-tinted in spring, maturing to glossy dark green by summer. Foliage acquires purplish hues in fall and burgundy-bronze tones by winter, sometimes suffering from winter burn. Bright yellow flowers (to 2.5” long) bloom in terminal inflorescences (racemes) in April. The specific epithet aquifolium denotes "sharp-leafed" (as in Ilex aquifolium, the common holly), referring to the spiny foliage.
