Japanese Mahonia (Mahonia japonica)
Description
Mahonia japonica is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to Taiwan.Despite the name, it is not native to Japan, though it has been known in cultivation there for centuries. The wild origins of this species have long puzzled botanists, but wild plants in Taiwan, known under the name Mahonia tikushiensis, appear most similar to the cultivated forms of M. japonica It is an evergreen shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) wide. The foliage is pinnate, glossy dark green above, paler beneath, and sharply toothed. Each leaf usually has six to eight pairs of leaflets together with a single terminal leaflet. The plant produces new shoots regularly from the base, so it is clothed in foliage at all levels. The small, scented, yellow flowers are borne from autumn through winter into spring. The inflorescences are 25 cm or more long, at first arching and then pendant. Blue or black fruits develop in spring and summer.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Order: Ranunculales
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Family: Berberidaceae
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Genus: Mahonia
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