Oregon-Grape - Edible, Medicinal, Winter Food, and Edible Landscaping!

Oregon-Grape or Tall Oregon-Grape - Mahonia aquifolium or Berberis aquifolium

Oregon-Grape grows in BC and in other parts of the Pacific Northwest specifically Idaho and Montana. The fruit and flowers are edible. Young leaves are also edible raw or cooked. The plant also has some medicinal properties.

Other names - mahonia and barberry

Identification and Distribution:
Pinnately compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets. They are oblong to egg-shaped, glossy-green and leathery with prominent spiny teeth along the edges. It looks like holly, but it is not. It has bright yellow flowers. 50 cm to 3 m tall.
It is native to western North America. It is widespread and common at low to mid elevations. It grows in dry to moist forests, in openings and clearings, on warm rocky hillsides at low to mid elevations. Found in southern BC, the Okanagan, Kootenays, Pacific Northwest states like Idaho and Montana. Possibly in Oregon, but I cannot confirm this.

Food/Edible:
Blue berries with several large seeds. They were eaten by several indigenous groups. They are tart or sour but can be eaten fresh. They have been used to make jellies, jam, juice or wine. Very young leaves can also be eaten raw. A drink can be made with mashed berries, sugar and water or ice to make a slush.
The flavour of the berries gets better after freezing and when the berries begin to get wrinkled.

Medicine:
The crushed plants and roots have antioxidant, antiseptic, and antibacterial properties. Root tea was used to help with delivery of afterbirth and for constipation. The plant contains various alkaloids which stimulate involuntary muscles, and the root tea was taken as a cough medicine but that might have increased coughing due to the stimulative effects. A decoction of the bark is said to be good for washing skin and mouth sores.

Other:
Used in landscaping. Shiny evergreen leaves and large clusters of bright yellow flowers which are also edible.

Warning:
High doses can cause nosebleeds, skin and eye irritation, shortness of breath, sluggishness, diarrhea, vomiting, kidney inflammation, and even death. Pregnant women should not use this plant because it can stimulate the uterus.

Other Similar Plants:

There are two other varieties mentioned briefly in this video that also have edible fruits and flowers. Those are:

Creeping Oregon Grape - Mahonia repens or Berberis repens

Creeping Oregon-grape is found in southern BC and Alberta as well as in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

Dull Oregon-Grape - Berberis nervosa

Dull Oregon-grape is found in southwestern BC or the coastal regions of BC.

Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

References

Jason, Dan. Some Useful Wild Plants. Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd. 2017

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018

Warnock, Caleb. 437 Edible Wild Plants of the Rocky Mountains West. Familius LLC. 2018