MAGONIA AQUIFOLIUM / MAHONIA AQUIFOLIUM
it is an evergreen shrub up to 1 meter high, forming thickets due to the growth of root suckers. The bark on young shoots is pinkish-gray, on old ones it is brown-gray, with longitudinal stripes. Chameleon plant. Depending on the season, it has a different color of leaves: in summer - green, in spring - red, in autumn - bronze.
Leaves are compound, prickly-toothed, pinnate, about 5-9 leaflets, up to 15-20 cm long, the petiole is usually reddish; leathery leaves, dark green above, glossy, with a depressed network of veins, matt below, pale green, notched-sharp-toothed along the edge, 3-9 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide.
Blossoming in April - May. The flowers are about 8 mm in diameter, collected in multi-flowered panicles or racemes in the axils of the outer scales of the apical bud, light yellow, bright, often with a lemon tint. Sepals 9, greenish-yellow; petals and stamens 6 each.
Berries are oblong-elliptical, up to 10 mm long, 8 mm wide, bluish-black, with abundant bluish bloom, covered with fluff, with 2-8 seeds, sweet and sour, used in confectionery production and for coloring wines. The fruits ripen in August - September.
Flowers harvested in March - April are used in medicine. The natural active ingredients from the bark of the Mahonia aquifolium plant are used in homeopathy to treat dry, scaly skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Well suited for curbs, low uncut hedges, group plantings and tamping tall shrubs. It is especially effective in spring with thick bright inflorescences that stand out against the dark green foliage. Used for bouquets.