488 



BERBERIS 



BERBERIS 



an- inconspicuous. B. Rcgeliana lias an upright dense 

 habit, luui grows from "i to ti feet. It lias tlie largest 

 leaves of iUiy of the ileciduous species, and the oraiige- 

 it\l fruits :ire reniarkalily oriianiontal throughout late 

 summer and fall, until midwinter. This is jierhaps 

 the most beautiful barberry in cultivation. B. Sieholdii 

 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 

 ami 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. 

 atnurrnsis; for low ornamental hedges, B. Thunhcrgii is 

 excellent. Since it makes a rather broad hedge, the 

 plant is most beautiful when it is not necessary to 

 trim it. B. Wilsons is a small beautiful shrub, 2 to 23^ 

 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. Sargentiann, a handsome shrub, 

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

 oblong leaves, hits proved quite hardy, and B. buiijo- 

 lia, B. stenophylln and B. Virruculosa 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 

 include*! 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 a;cid- 

 ium stage of Puccinia grmninis, 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 

 a-cidium 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 gcnninate during the winter. Berberis 

 M'ilsona^ will genninate in two to three week.s in the 

 grecnhou.se if sown as soon as ripe. Some of the spe- 

 cies cross when grown togttther, but B. sinensis, B. liege- 

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

 eny of B. Thunbergii sometimes seem to show that 

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



Most of the barberries can be pnjpagated 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. Tliis is the best way to 

 wrjjctuate individuals of strikingly characteristic 

 habits. A very small fx^rcentage of the cuttings of the 

 ripe wofxJ placed in the greenhou.sc in the fall will 

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

 propagated by suckers. Ilarer kinds and varieties are 

 Bometirno grafted on B. vulgaris or B. Thunbergii, in 

 Augii-rt or Se[)tember under gl;i.ss, or in early spring in 

 the greenhouse. Grafting, however, is not U> be recom- 

 mended, for the stock usually throws up suckers which 

 are often overlooked on aef»unt of the similarity of the 

 foliage of many species; they will overgrow the cion 



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

 the puqile-leaved barberrj' as a stock; the suckers are 

 thus easily noticeable antl may be removed in time. 



John Dunbar. 



INDEX. 



alba, 1. dulci.s. 1. IS. Maximowiczii, 14. 



albicaulis, IG. ttlutts, 1. minor, 14. 



albo-variegata, 1. enipetrifolia. 19. Neuliertii, 31 



amurensis. 2, 3. epruinosa, 10. nigra, 1. 



ani;ulizans, h. Jtorihundn, 4. nummular ia, 13. 



ansjustifolia, 10. Francisci-Ferdinandi, piuriHora, 14. 



approximata, 16. 9. Poiretii. 10. 



apyremi, 1. Gagnepainii, 23. polyantha, 8. 



aristala, 4, 30. Ouimpelii, 11. purpurea, 1. 



asiatica, 29. hakooides, 26. Kegeliana, 3. . 



asperma, 1. Hakodate, 3. santjuinolenla, 11, i^^ 



atropurpurea, 1. hetcropoda, 12. tSargentiana, 25. ' 



auroo-marginata, 1. hijpolcuai, 29. Sieboldii, 3, 7. 



buxifolia, 18. iberica, 11. .sinensi'^, 10, 11. 



canadensi.s, ,'j. ilicifolia, 27, 31. spalhulala, 11. 



caroliniatia, 5. integerrima, 13. stenophylla, 20. 



chitria, 30. japonica, 3. Thunbergii, 14. ^^ 



concinna, 21. koreana, 6. verruculoaa. 22. '^ 



congestijlora, 26. latifolia, 31. violncea, 1. 



curiaria, 4. leucocarpa, 1. vulgaris, 1, 2, 3. 



Darwinii, 28. levis, 24. Wilsonae, 15. 



Dnwsorui, 14. lutea, 1. xanthocarpa, 1. 



diaphana, 17. macrocarpa, 1. yuiinanensis, 17. 



diclyophylla,.16. macrophylla, 1. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Foliage deculaous: hs. membranous or 

 chartaceous. 

 B. Fls. in elongated racemes or panicles 

 {Jew-fid. peduncle-d umbels in No. 7). 

 c. Lvs. dentate or serrate. 

 D. Infl. simple, racemose. 



E. Branches of last year gray, 



except thx>se of the purple- 



hd. form of No. 1. 



F. Texture of Ivs. rather thin, 



not distinctly reticulate 



beneath. 



G. Shape of Ivs. generally 



obovate; setulose-dentate. 1. vulgaris 

 GG. Shape of Ivs. oblong or 

 elliptic; densely ciliate- 



denlale 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 ivs. spinulose-dentate. 

 G. Fr. purplish blue, oblong- 

 ovoid, longer than the 

 stout pedicels: racemes 



longer than the Ivs 4. aristata 



GG. Fr. red, short-ovoid, shorter 

 than the slender pedicels. 

 H. Breadth of Ivs. li-^iin., 

 oblong-obovate to obo- 

 vate, scarcely reticu- 

 late 5. canadensis 



HH. Breadth of Ivs. ^4- 

 lYl in., usually obo- 

 vate, n drulft!'', round- 

 ed at llii II !„ r G. koreana 



FF. The Ivs. dt'iimlij Kiliisc-cili- 

 ate, oblong: racemes um- 

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



DD. Infi. compound, paniculate, 2- 

 6 in. long. 

 E. Branches angled, grayish 

 brown: Ivs. rourtded at the 



apex, subcoriaceous 8. polyantha 



EE. Branches nearly terete, brown: 



Ivs. acute, thin 9. Francisci- 



cc. Lvs. entire, at least those of the IFerdinandi 



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 ruirrow-ob- 

 lanceolale, entire 10. Poiretii 



