Yellow flowering shrub

[KeenTeen17]

I have seen this shrub in quite a few gardens and parks this winter but this is the first time I had my camera with me. Can anyone put a name to this?

This was quite a bad specimen because of the frost.

heres the leaves


thanks mateys

[Wild-Woman]

Think it's Mahonia.

[Hedge Witch]

Yeah, I was just about to say that - I agree.

[poschiavanus]

The usual one in flower at the moment is Mahonia 'Charity'. The ordinary M. aquifolium is not yet in flower. Leaf shape is a bit different, but shape of the inflorescence is also useful.

[aeshna5]

Agree it's a Mahonia- important food source for wintering bumblebees + Blue Tits are partial to the flowers too, while Blackbirds + Starlings appreciate the fruits in my garden.

[davidbr]

Yes, it's Lily-of-the-Valley bush, Mahonia x media - I've seen it flowering since November in this part of the country, but only ever in gardens & parks; it might not be fertile to be naturalised.

[leifus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

Yes, it's Lily-of-the-Valley bush, Mahonia x media - I've seen it flowering since November in this part of the country, but only ever in gardens & parks; it might not be fertile to be naturalised.

yes its been owering for a long time at school

[poschiavanus]

Originally Posted by davidbr

Yes, it's Lily-of-the-Valley bush, Mahonia x media - I've seen it flowering since November in this part of the country, but only ever in gardens & parks; it might not be fertile to be naturalised.

I'd never heard this name before, and I don't think I knew the name of the hybrid either. Nice to learn them, The good thing about this plant, is that unlike M. aquifolium, it doesn't sucker like mad.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by poschiavanus

I'd never heard this name before, and I don't think I knew the name of the hybrid either. Nice to learn them, The good thing about this plant, is that unlike M. aquifolium, it doesn't sucker like mad.

I've never heard this common name either. To be honest I don't think it's that useful as most gardeners,etc would be more familiar with Mahonia, just as say Dahlia is both scientific + adopted vernacular name. I'm sure if you asked most gardeners or botanists what was a Lily of the Valley Bush, most would give you a blank look.

There seems to be a whole industry now inventing English names for things such as mosses, lichens, micro-moths, etc which didn't previously have them.

[davidbr]

It's probably of limited use, to be honest, because this plant is a garden-bred hybrid (gardeners call it Mahonia "Charity", after the cultivar, I believe...), but I do find common names in general make things easier - the problem with just calling it "Mahonia", say, is that it refers to an entire genus. You could easily be talking about M. aquifolium (which is given in most books as Oregon-grape)

Most British plants have common names these days, even the hundreds of micro-species of Hawkweeds - some are familiar, some made up recently on the spur of the moment. For listing purposes I record common name, scientific name & family, although all photos in my database are sorted by scientific names.