488 



BERBERIS 



are inconspicuous. B. Regeliana has an upright dense 

 habit, and grows from 5 to 6 feet. It has the largest 

 leaves of any of the deciduous species, and the orange- 

 red fruits are remarkably ornamental throughout late 

 summer and fall, until midwinter. This is perhaps 

 the most beautiful barberry in cultivation. B. Sieboldii 

 is slow-growing, but is a very choice species. The 

 habit is upright and compact, and the fall coloring 

 is brilliant. The small vermilion-red fruit-clusters are 

 very attractive. B. vulgaris, which is commonly grown 

 and has become extensively naturalized, has large 

 clusters of brilliantly colored fruits, and is a most 

 useful shrub in border plantations. It is prolific in 

 many varieties. Perhaps the most distinctive form is 

 the one with yellow fruits, which are usually seedless, 

 or, if the seeds are present, they are abortive. This 

 species makes a good hedge plant as does also B. 

 amurensis; for low ornamental hedges, B. Thuribergii is 

 excellent. Since it makes a rather broad hedge, the 

 plant is most beautiful when it is not necessary to 

 trim it. B. Wilsonx is a small beautiful shrub, 2 to 2J^ 

 feet with slender branches and small leaves. The coral- 

 red fruits are very distinctive. The tips of the branches 

 usually are winterkilled, but the plants recover rapidly 

 in summer. 



Few of the evergreen species are dependable in the 

 northeastern states. B. Sargentiana, a handsome shrub, 

 attaining a height of about 6 ft., with rather large 

 oblong leaves, has proved quite hardy, and B. buxifo- 

 ha, B. stenophylla and B. verruculosa nearly hardy in 

 Massachusetts. B. Neubertii rarely has the leaves 

 scorched by winter's cold, but is very slow-growing. 

 For other evergreen species, see Mahonia (formerly 

 included in Berberis). 



The root and the inner bark of several species are 

 sometimes used [for dyeing yellow. Some species have 

 medicinal properties. The fruits of B. vulgaris are made 

 into jelly. In wheat-growing districts, planting of Ber- 

 beris should be avoided, as it is the host of the secid- 

 ium stage of Puccinia graminis, a fungus which causes 

 the wheat-rust. Destroying the Berberis, however, will 

 not check the propagation of the fungus, as it is able 

 to grow and to spread for years without forming the 

 secidium stage. 



To secure the best results from most of the barberries, 

 they should be planted in moist, light loam, well 

 drained. The deciduous species, however, can be 

 grown in drier situations. 



Barberries germinate readily from seeds. The seeds 

 should be separated from the pulp by maceration and 

 sown in "flats" or broadcast in beds in the fall, and they 

 will germinate the following season. The seeds of rare 

 and scarce species should be sown in the greenhouse 

 where they will germinate during the winter. Berberis 

 Wilsonx will germinate in two to three weeks in the 

 greenhouse if sown as soon as ripe. Some of the spe- 

 cies cross when grown together, but B. sinensis, B. Rege- 

 liana and B. vulgaris appear to come true. The prog- 

 eny of B. Thuribergii sometimes seem to show that 

 they, have been affected by the pollen of B. vulgaris. 



Most of the barberries can be propagated from the 

 green cuttings of the young wood taken from the first 

 to the middle of June, and placed in sand in a shaded 

 hotbed in precisely the same way as lilacs, viburnums 

 or hydrangeas are treated. This is the best way to 

 perpetuate individuals of strikingly characteristic 

 habits. A very small percentage of the cuttings of the 

 ripe wood placed in the greenhouse in the fall will 

 "strike," but not enough to pay. Some species may be 

 propagated by suckers. Rarer kinds and varieties are 

 sometimes grafted on B. vulgaris or B. Thunbvrgii, in 

 August or September under glass, or in early spring in 

 the greenhouse. Grafting, however, is not to be recom- 

 mended, for the stock usually throws up suckers which 

 are often overlooked on account of the similarity of the 

 foliage of many species; they will overgrow the cion 



BERBERIS 



in a short time and smother it. A good plan is to use 

 the purple-leaved barberry as a stock; the suckers are 

 thus easily noticeable and may be removed in time. 



JOHN DUNBAR. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Foliage deciduous; hs. membranous or 



chartaceous. 



B. Fls. in elongated racemes or panicles 

 (few-fld. peduncled umbels in No. 7). 

 c. Lvs. dentate or serrate. 

 D. Infl. simple, racemose. 



E. Branches of last year gray, 

 except those of the purple- 

 hd. fotm of No. 1. 

 F. Texture of hs. rather thin, 

 not distinctly reticulate 

 beneath, 

 a. Shape of Ivs. generally 



obovate; setulose-dentate. 1. vulgaris 

 GO. Shape of hs. oblong or 

 elliptic; densely ciliate- 



denlate 2. amurensis 



FF. Texture of Ivs. firmer than 

 in F, distinctly reticulate 



beneath, often obtuse 3. Regeliana 



EE. Branches of last year reddish 



brown or yellowish brown. 

 F. The hs. spinulose-dentate. 

 o. FT. purplish blue, oblong- 

 ovoid, longer than the 

 stout pedicels: racemes 



longer than the hs 4. aristata 



GO. FT. Ted, short-ovoid, shorter 

 than the slender pedicels. 

 H. Breadth ofhs. %-%in., 

 oblong-obovate to obo- 

 vate, scarcely reticu- 

 late 5. canadensis 



BH. Breadth of hs. %- 

 1 y?. in., usually obo- 

 vate, reticulate, round- 

 ed at the apex 0. koreana 



FF. The hs. densely setosc-cili- 

 ate, oblong: racemes um- 

 bel-like, 3-6-fld 7. Sieboldii 



DD. Infl. compound, paniculate, %- 



6 in. long. 



E. Branches angled, grayish 

 brown: hs. rounded at the 



apex, subcoriaccous 8. polyantha 



EE. Branches nearly terete, brown: 



hs. acute, thin 9. Francisci- 



cc. Lvs. entire, at least those of the [Ferdinand! 



flowering branches. 

 D. Fr. red or purple: Ivs. narrow- 

 obovate or oblanceolate, acute 

 or acutish, bright green. 

 E. Bracts at least half as long as 

 the short pedicels: Ivs. green 

 beneath, usually narrou'-ob- 

 lanceolate, entire 10. Poiretii 



