On Feb. 8, I had a note about seeing leatherleaf mahonia, Berberis bealei, blooming in the woods near Stone Mountain. I ran across another specimen in the woods in a county park. The fruit looks a bit like a bunch of green grapes.
Berberis bealei is a native of China, but people in the Georgia Piedmont seem to like it. I haven’t heard any complaints about it being an invasive species. Perhaps the behavior, beauty or charm of an intruder has something to do with the reception it gets. I hear all kinds of complaints about kudzu. But everyone seems to admire wisteria, which has beautiful purple blooms. Both kudzu and wisteria came from Asia.
The specimens of leatherleaf mahonia I’ve seen were in the woods. I can’t imagine that a human planted them. Birds eat the fruit and spread the seeds. At that point, I’d say a plant has naturalized. Leatherleaf mahonia did not evolve in the Piedmont’s soil and climate, but it’s doing just fine.
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