Flowering holly-looking tree - aka Mahonia aquifolium ( or Oregon Grape Holly)

It was a lovely afternoon today so I took a break from sorting things and went outside to check the signs of autumn… It became a bit disconcerting as I kept actually finding lots of insects and even flowers.

The plant that caught my eye the most was this prickly leaf ‘tree’ that always grows out of hand and I normally call 'holly-looking tree'. The wood is extremely soft to cut so I sort of manage it that way, but I hadn’t noticed it having so many flowers before.

I went online to try and find its name and the closest was Mahonia or Oregon Grape.

I found we may even be lucky to have a variety called Charity,

which can grow up to four metres tall, with striking cup shaped flowers borne in long racemes in autumn and winter – bringing you a splash of sunny yellow over the colder months.

I will check how long the flowers last and whether or not we get those grape-looking fruits. As you can see below, individually the flowers are not that stunning but it’s the way they come out of the waxy (holly-looking) leaves that I found most attractive.

It is no wonder that they’re said to be in racemes because to me they look like little grapes :D hence their name I guess. I am not planning to eat the fruits as I’ve read they’re very tart (and I prefer sweet things), but it’s interesting that the plant is supposed to have medicinal properties as it’s got a compound called ‘berberine’.

By chance I was also able to see a video on how it is actually supposed to be pruned … before this I was just ‘guessing’.

I have written in the past that the people who owned this place before kept bees and I can see why this plant was put there.

It is not a native species but because it flowers so late it would give bees that extra bit of energy before the colder times. It is interesting to read as well that it likes ‘acidic’ soils as it’s growing next to some pine trees and it’s doing quite well there.

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photos and work by @cryptocariad