Mahonia × media 'Arthur Menzies'
Common name: 
Arthur Menzies Mahonia
Pronunciation: 
ma-HO-ni-a
Family: 
Berberidaceae
Genus: 
Mahonia
Synonyms: 
Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies'
Berberis 'Arthur Menzies'
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Evergreen shrub, 6-10 feet (1.8 -3 m) tall, upright, may become leggy.  Leaves compound, large, to 45 cm, to 19 leaflets, 3-4 spines per side, deep blue-green.  Flowers yellow, in large, erect clusters (10-25 cm long × 20-25 cm wide), blooms in early winter.  Fruit blue-purple, in spring.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone (7) 8      A seedling that was selected at the Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle, in 1961.  Mahonia × media is a hybrid, from M. japonica × M. lomariifolia.  'Arthur Menzies' is also listed as a hybrid of M. bealie × M. lomariifolia.  M. japonica and M. beali  are "scarcely distinct" (Huxely, 1992).  Some authorities list 'Beali' as a cultivar of M. japonica (Hillier Nurseries, 1998).
  • Arthur Menzies: after Arthur L. Menzies, Supervisor of Plant Accessions at Strybing Arboretum, San Francisco, he sent seeds from the cross to the Washington Park Arboretum.
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  • plant habit, fruiting

    plant habit, fruiting

  • leaves and fruit

    leaves and fruit