Chapters 4.63

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Mahonia aquifolium.jpg

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Li,R. (2022) Fleshy Fruits. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Introduction

Tall Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium) despite itsname is a species of barberry instead of grape that is native to North America(Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). These barberries have been used and consumed by Indigenous groups from the Pacific Northwest. Part one of this paper intends to shed some light on the identity, many usages, and geographic organs of Tall Oregon grape along with its history with the Indigenous people of Canada.

Background Information

Berberis aquifoliumis also known as Mahonia aquifolium due to the long-standing debate surrounding whether Mahonia is a distinct genus or should be categorized under the genus Berberis.

Those who claim Mahoniacan not be recognized as a distinct genus argue that the only characteristic separating the two groups is leaf forms with Mahonia having compound leaves while Berberis has simple leaves (Marroquín & Laferrière, 1997). However, with the new development in bio technology, it was discovered that there are considerable genetic variations between the two, supporting the idea that Berberis and Mahoniaare two distinct genera (Hsieh, Yu, Huang, & Chung,

Figure 1. The Tell Oregon grape in bloom(Mabel, 2022)

Tall Oregon grape is an evergreen shrub, that can grow up to 3 meters tall or occasionally 4.5 meters. The leaves of Oregon grape appear dark green in colour, leathery and waxy in texture. The flowers of the plant are yellow that bloom in early spring in a cluster formation. It is noted that although the plant mainly utilizes sexual reproduction, Tall Oregon grape can also reproduce by means of vegetative reproduction which is a form of a sexual reproduction. The berries mature by fall with a grape-like appearance. The fruits have large seeds in them and are rather tart compare to most berries that are consumed (Small, 2014).

Figure 2. The Fruit of Berberis aquifolium(Micah,2022)

Geographic Origins

Tall Oregon grape is widespread throughout North America. It is native to the pacific coastal region, from the north of Mexico to the southern parts of British Columbia. However, they also are found in other parts of North America (Small, 2014). In addition, It was brought to many other continents. Reportedly,Mahonia aquifoliumas an invasive specie has out-competed native species ofMahoniain central Europe (Ross& Auge, 2008) specifically in forest landscapes of Germany (Auge & Brandl, 1997).

Tall Oregon grape is a plant that belongs to zone 5a (Invasive Species Council of British Columbia, 2021) on the Plant Hardiness Zone Map developed by the United States Department of Agriculture which is derived from the average annual coldest temperature (2022).

Zone 5a represents areas that have a minimum winter temperate of -15 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit. The regions in Canada that belong to zone 5a are the coast of British Columbia, some of the Great Lake area and the Maritime (Natural Resources Canada, 2022).

Figure 3. Canada's Plant Hardiness Zones (Natural Resources Canada, 2022)

Indigenous History

The barberry family is used widely by indigenous people around the world (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). In Canada, Oregon grapes were mainly used by the indigenous people of British Columbia, specifically the Straits, Halkomelem, Squamish, Sechelt, and Kwakwaka'wakw, Nlaka'pamux, Lillooet, Shuswap, Okanagan-Colville, Kootenay and Carrier (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991). They are believed to have many medicinal properties to treat skin conditions, infections or upset stomachs.

The leave and stems of the plant can be boiled or crushed and eaten. The fruits can be consumed raw, dried or mixed into other food like a porridge called “rubbaboo”. They can also be made into a jam, juice or even spread on cakes. However, the indigenous people also used the Oregon grape as other products like the berries made into lotion by grinding it or the leaves and root boiled and made into a shampoo (MacDermot, 1949).

Consumption & Pharmaceutical Uses

Due to its tart and bitter flavour, the tall Oregon grape is not often consumed today, if at all. Nevertheless, it can be made into jelly or jam. The more common usage of Oregon grape is often in Pharmaceuticals. A study in 2021, found the therapeutic potential against HPV infection and cervical cancer in the extract ofBerberis aquifolium’sroot which contains berberine (Singh et al). Other than that, berberine is also found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities which suggest that there may be possible uses in managing cardiometabolic-based chronic disease.

Other Uses

Oregon Grapes are hardy and easy to care for in addition to their bright flowers and small rounded fruit which make them excellent plants for landscaping and ground cover. Ornamental Oregon grape. The plant is also deer resistant which means that they are rarely consumed by deers which is a problem for many gardeners.

Berberine found in the plant’s roots is also a yellow dye which can be used on wool, leather or silk. It was also used as a pigment in yellow paint at some point in history.

Limitations

Although Mahonia plants generally do not suffer frompests and insects, they are prone to fungus diseases. The two common diseases that are found in Mahonia aquifoliumare rust and mildew. Plant rust likes its name, and looks like dark red spots on the leaves. And mildew similarly appears as white or sometimes grey spots on the leaves. Both of these conditions can be caused by overly humid or low airflow environments. These diseases can quickly spread through the area if there are any plantations nearby.

References

1.Auge, H., & Brandl, R. (1997). Seedling recruitment in the invasive clonal shrub, Mahonia aquifolium Pursh (Nutt.). Oecologia, 110(2), 205–211. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050151

2.CAMEO. (2002, May 4).Berberis dye. Retrieved from https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Berberis_dye

3.Hsieh, C. L., Yu, C. C., Huang, Y. L., & Chung, K. F. (2022). Mahonia vs. Berberis Unloaded: Generic Delimitation and Infrafamilial Classification of Berberidaceae Based on Plastid Phylogenomics. Frontiers in plant science, 12, 720171. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.720171

4.Invasive Species Council of British Columbia. (2021, May 21). Tall Oregon grape. Retrieved from https://bcinvasives.ca/play-your-part/plantwise/grow-me-instead/tall-oregon-grape/

5.Kuhnlein, H. V., & Turner, N. J. (1991). Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples: Nutrition, botany and use. London: Routledge Mabel, J. (2020). Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) in flower along Green River Trail [photogarph].

6.MacDermot, J. H. (1949). Food and medicinal plants used by the Indians of British Columbia. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 61(2), 177–183.

7.Marroquín, J. S., & Laferrière, J. E. (1997). Transfer of Specific and Infraspecific Taxa from Mahonia to Berberis. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 30(1), 53–55. Retrieved https://www.jstor.org/stable/40022442

8.Micah. (2022). Blue Round Fruits in Tilt Shift Lens [photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/food-agriculture-farm-leaf-4946373/.

9.Moore, J. (2022, April 27). Common mahonia pests anddiseases and how to treat them. Retrieved from https://www.pyracantha.co.uk/common-mahonia-pests-and-diseases/

10.Natural Resources Canada. (2022, Oct 18). Canada's Plant Hardiness Zones [map]. Retrieved from http://planthardiness.gc.ca/?m=1

11.Ross, C. A., & Auge, H. (2008). Invasive Mahonia plants outgrow their native relatives. Plant Ecology, 199(1), 21–31. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-008-9408-z

12.Singh, T., Chhokar, A., Thakur, K., Aggarwal, N., Pragya, P., Yadav, J., Tripathi, T., Jadli, M., Bhat, A., Gupta, P., Khurana, A., & Chandra Bharti, A. (2021). Targeting Aberrant Expression of STAT3 and AP-1 Oncogenic Transcription Factors and HPV Oncoproteins in Cervical Cancer by Berberis aquifolium. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 757414–757414. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.757414

13.Small, E. (2014). Oregon Grape. In North American Cornucopia (1st ed., pp. 491–495). CRC Press. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1201/b15818-68

14.United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Retrieved from https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/