Kew Herbarium specimens considered by Dr. Thomson and 
myself as forms of the latter plant, from Sikkim and other 
parts of the Himalaya, which I am now disposed to think 
should be referred to B. virescens. From the normal 
forms of B. aristata it differs in the small leaves, fascicled 
or very shortly corymbose flowers, their small size, pale 
yellow or greenish colour, and in the small narrow long- 
pedicelled fruits which have a tendency to be narrowed 
upwards, as also in the solitary seed. Mr. Nicholson, who 
has aided me in the examination of B. virescens, has drawn 
my attention to a Berbery cultivated at Kew and elsewhere 
in England and on the Continent, which has similarly 
small pale fiowers, but rather larger spinnlose-toothed 
leaves more strongly nerved, and larger red or black 
berries with one much larger seed. I made no note of the 
colour of the flower when I gathered the plant in Sikkim, 
but as I was then on the march, and this was during the 
rainy season, when I lost a large proportion of my collec- 
tions from inability to get them preserved speedily, I may 
well have overlooked this important point. The exact 
habitat of my specimens is the Lachen Valley, at an eleva- 
tion of 9000 feet above the sea, and the date May 28, 
1849. Other specimens are from Bhotan, collected by 
Griffith, and there is a similar plant from the N.W. 
Himalaya. Mr. Acton’s flowering specimens were received 
on June 14, 1887, and again on May 24, 1888, his fruiting 
ones on October 19; and from these the figures in this 
Magazine are taken. 
Descr. A shrub with spreading strict divaricating 
branches; branchlets terete or slightly grooved; bark brown, 
shining. Leaves two-thirds to one and a quarter inches 
long, tufted, obovate, tip rounded or apiculate, quite entire 
on the larger spinulose-toothed ; pale green above, paler 
subglaucous beneath; nerves very inconspicuous except in 
older leaves. Thorns tripartite, very slender. Flowers 
small, one-third of an inch in diameter, in fascicles or very 
short racemes, sulphurous or greenish yellow. Sepals 
ovate. Petals spathulately obovate. Berry half an inch 
long, narrowly oblong, or narrowed upwards, compressed, 
scarlet or black, one-seeded ; stigma small, disciform, sub- 
sessile.-—J. D. H. 
Fig. 1, Flower; 2, petal; 3, stamen; 4, ovary :—all enlarged, 
ct 
