Alloberberis C.C.Yu & F.K.Chung

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Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Alloberberis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/alloberberis/). Accessed 2025-04-29.

Family

Berberidaceae

Synonyms

Mahonia Nutt.
Berberis L.

Species in genus

Glossary

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Alloberberis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/alloberberis/). Accessed 2025-04-29.

Mahonia nevinii flowering at the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 9 May 2017. Image John Anderson.

Editorial Note

Made up of xeric species from the western USA, this newly erected (2017) genus consists of eleven species that formerly constituted Mahonia sect. Horridae. Mahonia as traditionally circumscribed was found to be polyphyletic, a problem that some authorities (e.g. POWO 15/4/2025) have solved by sinking the genus into Berberis. However, there are good horticultural, ecological and evolutionary reasons for wanting to maintain two separate genera, and recent molecular research has shown that a monophyletic classification can instead be achieved by referring all of sect. Horridae to Alloberberis (Yu & Chung 2017). (A similar operation has been effected in Berberis, where Berberis claireae has been transferred to another new genus, Moranothamnus, for the same reason.) See also the genus entry for Mahonia.

Mahonia fremontii. University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, Vancouver, Canada. 1 March 2019. Image John Anderson.

Mahonia swaseyi rather resembles M. trifoliolata but has larger leaves with more (often 5) leaflets. It is endemic to the Edwards Plateau, Texas (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA – 12 March 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

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