34 BERBERIDACEiE. Leonticb. 



incisely 2 - 3 lobed. — R. Br. in Linn, trans. 12. p. 145. t.7 ; Torr.fl. l.p. 336; Darlingt. 

 fi. Cest. p. 213 ; Torr. ^ Gr.fl. N. Am. \.p. 52. Caulophyllum thalictroidcs, Michx.fl. 1. 

 p. 205. t. 21 ; Pursh,fl. \.p. al8; Bot. mag. t. 2345. 



Plant purplish and glaucous when young. Stem simple, 1-2 feet high, clothed at the base 

 with several oblong imbricated scales. Leaves commonly 2, the petiole of the lowest di- 

 vided nearly to the base ; leaflets 1-2^ inches long and an inch or more wide, often obtusely 

 cuneate at the base, the lateral ones more or less oblique and nearly or quite sessile ; terminal 

 one petiolulate. Panicle small, racemose ; the peduncle arising from the base of the upper 

 loaf. Petals greenish-yellow, about twice the length of the sepals, obovate-lanceolate, ungui- 

 culate, with a reniform viscid scale on the inside at the base. Stamens scarcely one-third the 

 length of the petals ; filaments short and thick ; anthers ovate, opening, as in the greater part 

 of the family, by two valves, formed by the separation, all around, of the face of each cell ; 

 the valves curving upward, and remaining attached by a small surface. Ovary ovoid, narrowed 

 at the base, obliquely beaked with the short style ; ovules 2, ascending. Pericarp extremely 

 thin, bursting soon after the impregnation by the growth of the young seeds, the vestiges 

 . only remaining ; seeds naked, about the size of a large pea (one of them often abortive), glo- 

 bose, deep blue when ripe ; the testa somewhat fleshy, supported on a short thick funiculus : 

 albumen horny, of the form of the seed. 



Fertile rocky woods ; not uncommon. Fl. April - May. Fr. August. The root of this 

 plant is in some repute as a diuretic and bitter, but its powers have probably been overrated. 

 The roasted seeds have much the taste and odor of coffee, but I am not aware of their having 

 been much used as a substitute for that article. 



3. JEFFERSONIA. Bart, in trans. Amer. phil. soc. 3. p. 334, cum icon. ; Endl. gen. 



no. 4807. TWIN-LEAP. 



[Named in honor of Mr. Jefferson, late president of the United States.] 



Sepals 4, petaloid. Petals 8, oblong. Stamens 8 : anthers linear. Ovary obovate ; stigma 

 peltate, nearly sessile. Capsule somewhat stipilate, opening by a transverse semilunar 

 chink near the summit. Seeds numerous, crowded in several rows on the broad lateral 

 placenta : aril lacerate, unilateral. Embryo minute, at the base of fleshy albumen. Rhi- 

 zoma horizontal, throwing up a simple one-flowered scape, and bifoliolate or deeply 2-parted 

 leaves. Habit of Sanguinaria. 



1. Jeffersonia diphylla, Pers. Twin-leaf. Rheumatism-root. 



Pers. syn. 1.^. 418; Pursh. fl. I. p. 268; Bot. mag. t. 1513; Torr.fl. I. p. 399; Torr. 

 4- Gr.fl. N. Am. I. p. 53. J. binata, Bart. I. c. J. Bartonis, Michx. fl. I. p. 237. Podo- 

 phyllum diphyllum, Linn. 



