Family: Barberry (Berberidaceae)

Hardy to Zones 5 to 9

(Longleaf Mahonia, Cascade Barberry)  Evergreen shrub or ground cover, native to coniferous understory of coastal regions in western N America, from BC to California, with a disjunctive population also occurring in Idaho, up to an elevation of 6,000 feet.

The plant is highly prized in the shade garden, with shining, compound, holly-like leaves, bearing yellow flowers that give way to large clusters of purple berries in the late summer, to 2 feet tall.  Traditional usage (TWM): antibacterial, liver stimulant, water purification.  Source of the yellow alkaloid berberine.  Plant prefers loose, rocky and acid soils of hillsides and stream banks or the rich soil found under conifers.  We are offering cold stored seeds in order to help speed the typical multi-cycle germination of this species.  Sow anytime, for germination in warm soils.  Allow seedlings to grow for a year or more in nursery beds or in pots, then transplant to permanent location, 2 feet apart.

20 seeds per packet, Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s