BENTINCKIA 



BERBERIS 



487 



spadix Ity-Z ft., many times branched, the branchlets 

 inserted in woolly grooves: fr. about as large as a 

 cherry. India. R.H. 1896, p. 249. \. TAYLOR. 



BENZOIN (of Arabic or Semitic origin, meaning a 

 gum or perfume). Syn., Lindera. Laurdcese. Ornamen- 

 tal woody plants, grown chiefly for their handsome 

 aromatic foliage; some species also for their early yel- 

 low flowers and the brightly colored fruits in autumn. 



Aromatic .shrubs or trees: Ivs. alternate, entire or 

 3-lobed, deciduous or persistent: fls. polygamous or 

 dioecious, apetalous, small, in axillary clusters with an 

 involucre of 4 deciduous scales; sepals 6, rarely more; 

 staminate fls. with 9 stamens, pistillate with a globose 

 ovary and 9-15 staminodes: fr. a 1-seeded drupe. 

 About 60 species, if Daphnidium and Aperula are 

 included, in Temp, and Trop. E. and Cent. Asia and in 



N. AlIKT. 



Some Asiatic species yield an odorous oil used in per- 

 fumery. The cultivated species, with the exception of 

 B. gracile, are deciduous shrubs, with yellow flowers in 

 small clusters before the leaves and red or black fruits 

 in autumn. B. aestivale is hardy North and B. obtusi- 

 1 1 ii, a in has proved hardy at the Arnold Arboretum in a 

 .-heltered position; B. hypoglaucum is of about equal 

 hardiness: the other species are more tender. 



They thrive best in peaty or sandy and moist soil. 

 Propagation is usually by seeds, which must be sown 

 after maturity, as they soon lose their vitality; also by 

 . which root best in peaty soil; of greenwood cut- 

 tings under glass, one-half may be expected to root. 

 The benzoin of the drug- 



BERBERIDOPSIS (from Herberts and Greek opsis, 

 likeness). Flacoiirtiaceae. Ornamental shrub cultivated 

 for its crimson flowers and evergreen foliage. 



Branches slender, terete: Ivs. alternate, petioled, 

 dentate: fls. perfect, long-pedicelled, in terminal racemes; 

 bracts, sepals and petals gradually passing into one 

 another, 9-15, the inner ones concave, larger; stamens 

 7-10 with very short filaments; ovary superior, 1-celled 

 with many ovules; style short, with 3-lobed stigma: 

 fr. a berry. One species in Chile. 



This is a low, glabrous, slightly climbing shrub, with 

 deep green foliage and crimson flowers in drooping 

 racemes, for temperate regions or the cool greenhouse, 

 growing in almost any soil. Propagation is by seeds 

 sown in spring, by greenwood cuttings in spring, or by 

 layers in autumn. 



corallina, Hook. Lvs. cordate, oblong-ovate, coarsely 

 spinulose-dentate, 2-3 in. long: fls. globose, over V^in. 

 long, crimson, in many-fld. bracteate racemes. B.M. 

 5343. F.S. 20:2137. F.W. 1875:97. G. 2:547. 32:175. 

 H.F. 1863:148. ALFRED REHDER. 



i;ists is a balsamic resin 

 obtained from Styrax 

 Benzoin. 



sestiviile, Xees (Ben- 

 zoin Benzoin, Coulter. 

 />'. (ulnrifi ri/ni. Vees. Lin- 

 dera Benzoin, Blume). 

 SPICE BUSH. BENJAMIN 

 HUSH. WILD ALLSPICE. 

 FEVER BUSH. Fig. 537. 

 Shrub, 6-15 ft., nearly 

 glabrous: Ivs. oblong- 

 (ibovate, finely ciliate, 

 bright green, pale be- 

 neath, 3-5 in. long: fls. 

 yellow, before the lys. : 

 Deny red, oblong, spicy. 

 New Eng. southward 

 and west to Kan. Em. 

 :;ti5.--The bark is aro- 

 matic, stimulant, tonic, 

 :ist ririgent ; the fr. is like- 

 wise used medicinally. 

 The shrub is attractive 

 in early spring with its 

 yellow, small, but numer- 

 ous fls., and handsome 

 in autumn with its 

 foliage turning clear yel- 

 low and studded with 

 t lie scarlet frs. 



i'-ilf, Kuutze (Daphnidium gracile, Xees). Lvs. 



s-. per-i'tent. Habitat unknown. Stove pi. int. 

 B. Aypopfa&eum, Rehd. (Lindera hypoglauca, Maxim. B. hypo- 

 Iruemn, Kuntzel. Lv.s. penninerved, Khtueuus beneath: fluster, 

 few-fid., with or before the Ivs. : (jerries black. Japan. B. melissifft- 

 lutrtt, Xees. Allied to B. a?st ivale. Branches pubescent: Ivs. 

 oblong, downy beneiith. Southern states. B.M. 1470. B. obtu- 

 ..7"/",// ( . Kunlze. f.ar^e shrub with very handsome foliage: Ivs. 

 -i-iterv' .'.-lnl>ed, grayish preen itnd nearly plabrous 



i. L' I ! , in. long: clusters many-till.: berries black. Japan. 

 <;.!'. il:^!i.-i. S.I.F. 1:44. B. pracoi, Sieb. <fe Zucc. Lvs. penni- 

 nerved. elliptic-oblong, greenish beneath, acuminate: clusters few- 

 lid., before the Ivs. : berries brownish, l-^in. diam. Japan. S.I. I'. 

 2:19. B. sericeum, Sieb. & Zucc. Lvs. penninerved, grayish 

 pubescent lumeath: clusters many-fld., with the Ivs. Japan. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



537. 

 Benzoin aestivale. 



(X'i) 



BERBERIS (Arabic name). Berberiddcess. BAR- 

 BERRY. Ornamental deciduous or evergreen shrubs, 

 cultivated for their handsome foliage assuming in most 

 species brilliant autumnal tints, and for their bright 

 yellow flowers and attractive fruit. 



Spiny shrubs with yellow inner bark and wood: Ivs. 

 alternate, often fascicled, usually glabrous, simple, 

 deciduous or evergreen: fls. in elongated or umbel-like, 

 rarely compound racemes, or fascicled or solitary; 

 sepals 6 with 2 or 3 bractlets below; petals 6, often 

 smaller than sepals and usually with 2 glands near the 

 base; stamens 6, included, the anthers opening with 

 valves; ovary superior, 1-celled, with 1 to many ovules: 

 fr. a berry with 1 or several oblong seeds. Nearly 175 

 species in Amer. from Brit. Col. to Patagonia, in Asia, 

 Eu., and N. Afr. Monogr. bv Schneider in Bull. Hort. 

 ^Boissier, Ser. II. 5:33, 133," 391, 449, 655, 800, 813 

 (1905). Mahonia is now considered by most botanists 

 as a distinct genus, differing from the true barberries by 

 the pinnate Ivs., by the racemes appearing in the axils 

 of the bud-scales and by the spineless branches. The 

 spines of the barberry are, morphologically, Ivs., and 

 the Ivs. are borne on short branches in their axils (Fig. 

 538). The stamens are sensitive; when the filaments 

 are touched with a pin, the fls. first open, and the sta- 

 mens fly forward upon the pistil. ALFRED REHDER. 



The different species of hardy deciduous barberries 

 are excellent decorative shrubs with pleasing habits of 

 growth. The flowers of most of them in spring and 

 early summer, whilst not conspicuous, are very attrac- 

 tive, and the fruits of nearly all are highly ornamental 

 in late summer, fall and early winter on account of their 

 red, dark blue or nearly black color. Berberis amurensis, 

 B. sinensis, B. diaphana, B. Poiretii, B. Regcliana, B. 

 Sieboldii, and B. Thunbergii all assume brilliant fall 

 colors in varying shades of orange and red. Some 

 species, as B. Thunbergii, B. Sieboldii, and B. Rehder- 

 innn, retain their bright red fruits unchanged until the 

 following spring, while the fruits of the other species 

 shrivel and dry up during the winter. 



Berberis aristata is the strongest-growing species and 

 attains a height of 12 to 13 feet in twenty years, with 

 gracefully arching branches, and has violet-red fruits; 

 the thickish leaves are semi-persistent. B. canadensin 

 forms a neat compact bush 3 to 3% feet with upright 

 spreading branches. The small clusters of bright red 

 fruits are very attractive. This is a rare shrub in culti- 

 vation, and B. vulgaris has often been sold for it. B. 

 sinensis is a neat, graceful shrub with pendulous 

 branches 3J/2 to 4 feet and bears numerous clusters of 

 bright red fruits. B. dinphana forms a dense compact 

 shrub 2}^ to 3 feet, but its chief decorative value is in 

 its rich fall coloring, as the solitary flowers and fruits 



