XANTHORHIZA 93 



XANTHORHIZA Marsh. (Ranunculaceae) 



Small, nearly imbranched shrubs, lemon-yellow when cut. 

 Twigs terete, moderate, smooth; pith large, round, continuous. 

 Lateral buds solitary, sessile, ovoid-oblong, compressed and 

 flattened against the stem, with about 3 scales; terminal buds much 

 larger, fusiform, terete, with about 5 scales. Leaf-scars alter- 

 nate, low, slightly curved, more than half encircling the twig; 

 bundle-traces about 11; stipule-scars none. 



1. _X. simplicissima Marsh. Shrubby Yellowroot. QC. api- 

 ifolia L'Her. ). Stems clustered, 3-6 dm. high, glabrous; twigs 

 gray; buds red-brown. Damp thickets, mostly in the mountains. 

 New York to West Virginia, south to Alabama and Florida (Fig. 97). 



BERBERIS L. (Berberidaceae) 



Shrubs, usually with branched spines (representing modified 

 leaves) subtending short spurs bearing fascicled foliage leaves. 

 Wood and pith yellow. Twigs grooved, slender; pith relatively 

 large, round, continuous. Buds rather small, solitary, sessile, 

 ovoid, with about 6 scales. Leaf- scars alternate, small, half- 

 round; bundle-traces 3, minute; stipule-scars none. 



a. Twigs finely warty, slightly angled 1. B. canadensis 



a. Twigs not warty 



b. Twigs gray or buff 2. B. vulgaris 



b. Twigs reddish-brown 3. B. thunbergii 



1. _B. canadensis Mill. American Barberry . A shrub 3-24 

 dm. high; twigs glabrous, slender, red-brown, warty; spines 3- 

 parted, up to 12 mm. long; berries scarlet, oval or subglobose, 

 7-9 mm. long. Dry woodlands, mountains of West Virginia and 

 Virginia to Georgia; also in Missouri; not native in Canada, des- 

 pite the name (Fig. 98). 



2. B. vulgaris L. European Barberry. A glabrous shrub 

 2-3 m.high, the branches arched and drooping at the ends, the 

 twigs glabrous, gray or buff, strongly grooved; spines unbranched 

 or mostly 3-parted; berries scarlet, ellipsoid. Introduced from 

 Europe and abundantly naturalized in thickets (Fig. 99). 



3. B^ thunbergii DC. Japanese Barberry . Compact low- 

 spreading, 0. 5-1. 5 m. high, with brown twigs and unbranched 

 spines; berries ellipsoid to globose. Introduced from Asia, some- 

 what spreading, from cultivation (Fig. 100). 



