Mahonia trifoliolata

Mahonia trifoliolata
File:Agarita, Agrito, Algerita (Mahonia trifoliolata).jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Berberidaceae
Genus:	Mahonia
Species:	M. trifoliolata
Binomial name
Mahonia trifoliolata (Moric.) Fedde
Synonyms
Berberis trifoliolata Moric. Odostemon trifoliolatus (Moric.) A. Heller Berberis trifoliolata var. glauca (I.M. Johnst.) M.C. Johnst. ex Laferr. Mahonia trifoliolata var. glauca I.M. Johnst.

Mahonia trifoliolata is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, in southwestern North America. Common names include agarita, agrito, algerita, currant-of-Texas, wild currant, and chaparral berry.

Distribution

The shrub is native to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the Southwestern United States, and across Northeastern Mexico as far south as Durango and San Luis Potosí states. In Texas it is found on rocky slopes & cliffs, and in thickets and open woods, from coastal South Texas northwest to the Trans-Pecos region.

Description

Mahonia trifoliolata is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 3–8 ft (0.91–2.44 m) tall and wide. It has rigid and spreading branches, often forming thickets.

The foliage is gray-green to blue-gray, and the leaflets have sharp points at the ends.

Clusters of fragrant, yellow flowers bloom in February through April. They are followed by red berries from May to July.

Taxonomy

Several authorities consider the entire Mahonia genus as part of Berberis, in which case the scientific name becomes Berberis trifoliolata.

Uses

Songbirds eat the fruits, and quail and small mammals use the plant for cover. It is considered a good honey source.

Food

The bright red edible fruits of the agarita can be harvested around late April to early May. The fruits contain a slightly sweet and sour juice, when expelled the juice can be used to produce an agarita wine or used simply as a fruit juice drink. The fruits also contain seeds and can be used to germinate new agarita plants. The fruit is a red berry used in jellies.

Native Americans of the Apache, Chiricahua, and Mescalero tribes used the fresh and preserved fruit for food, and the wood shavings as a traditional eye medicine and a yellow dye for hides.

Cultivation

Mahonia trifoliolata is cultivated as an ornamental plant for use in desert region gardens. It is a low maintenance and drought tolerant plant, with a very high heat tolerance.

Gallery

• Berberis trifoliolata form.jpg

  Overall form

• Berberis trifoliolata leaves.jpg

  Leaf arrangement

• Berberis trifoliolata in spring.jpg

  Immature fruits in spring

• Berberis trifoliolata berries.jpg

  Ripe fruits

External links

• USDA Plants Profile for Mahonia trifoliolata (algerita)
• Berberis trifoliolata information from NPGS/GRIN
• Data related to Mahonia trifoliolata at Wikispecies
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Tropicos Berberis trifoliolata
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN) treatment of Mahonia trifoliolata (Agarita, Agarito, Algerita, Laredo mahonia)
• I.M. Johnstone, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 31: 190. 1950.
• Flora of North America, vol 3.
• Loconte, H., & J. R. Estes. 1989. Phylogenetic systematics of Berberidaceae and Ranunculales (Magnoliidae). Systematic Botany 14:565-579.
• Marroquín, Jorge S., & Joseph E. Laferrière. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 30(1):53-55.
• Laferrière, Joseph E. 1997. Transfer of specific and infraspecific taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Bot. Zhurn. 82(9):96-99.
• University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Mahonia trifoliolata
• Texas Native Plants Database: Mahonia trifoliolata (Agarita)