BERBERA^CEJE : BE' RBERIS. 



43 



Berfcrri* vulgaris. 



Spec. Char., $c. Spines 3-parted. Leaves somewhat 

 obovate, ciliately serrated. Racemes many-flowered, 

 pendulous. Petals entire. (Don's Mill.) A spread- 

 ing, many-stemmed, deciduous shrub. Europe, and 

 Britain in hedges and copses, and naturalised in many 

 parts of Asia and America. Height 6ft. to 10ft. 

 Flowers yellow ; May and June. Berries red ; ripe 

 in September. Decaying leaves reddish yellow. 

 Naked wood yellowish white. 



Varieties. 



& B. v. 2 liitea. Fruit yellow, sometimes stone- 

 less. 



& B v. 3 alba. Fruit white. 



& B. y. 4 violdce a. Fruit violaceous 



^ B. v. 5 purpftrea. B. innominata JTr//w. Fruit 

 purple; leaves narrow, hardly ciliated. 



sfe B. v. 6 nigra. Fruit black ; leaves oblong, ci- 

 liately serrated, serratures few. The fruit of 

 this plant is said by Tournefort, who found 

 it on the banks of the Euphrates, to be of 

 delicious flavour. 



at B. v. 7 dulcis. Fruit red, somewhat less acid 

 than that of the common berberry. Leaves of 

 a bright shining green. Native of Austria, 

 where it was first considered to be a distinct species, till the fruit 

 of plants raised from its seed was found to be as acid as that of 

 the common berberry. It is now, however, propagated by layers ; 

 the leaves and fruit are considerably larger than those of the species, 

 and the fruit is found perfectly sweet and agreeable to eat. In 

 short, this variety is to the common berberry, what the apple is to 

 the crab. 



& B. v. 8 asperma. The seedless Berberry. Fmit destitute of seeds. 

 Miller, and also Du Hamel, both say that suckers taken from this 

 variety commonly produce fruit with seeds ; that, as the tree grows 

 older, the seeds become fewer, and that it is the age of the plant 

 that at last causes the fruit to be seedless ; in that case this plant 

 must be considered more a variation than a variety. B. v. asperma 

 is said by Du Hamel to produce the best fruit for preserving; and 

 it is from it that the delicious Confitures d'E'pine vinette, for which 

 Rouen is so celebrated, are made. (Nouv. Duh. t iv. p. 13.) 



3& B. v. 9 longifolia Booth. Leaves longer than those of the species. 



* B. v. 10 glauca. B. glauca Booth. Leaves glaucous. Mr. Gordon 

 considers this plant as related to B. sibirica ; but, as it has not yet 

 flowered in the Horticultural Society's Garden this point cannot he 

 determined. (See Gard. Mag., vol. xvi. p. 2.) 



& B. v. ] 1 mitis. Shoots without spines. Leaves glaucous, rather 

 broader. 



& B. v. \2provindalis Schrad. Young shoots brown. Leaves and fruit 



as in the common berberry. 

 All these varieties are in the London Horticultural Society's Garden. 



Other Varieties. In the Horticultural Society's Garden a number of 

 alleged species of berberries have been raised from seed, which have all 

 proved varieties of B. vulgaris, and most of them so slight, as to be scarcely 

 worth keeping distinct. (See Gard. Mag., vol. xvi. p. 2.) 



The common berberry will live for two or three centuries, without increasing 

 much in size. The wood is hard and brittle, of a yellow colour, and but 

 little used except for dyeing. The rate of growth, when the plant is young, 

 is rapid; and, in consequence, in five or six years it will attain the height of 



