240 BERBERIS 



B. EMPETRIFOLIA, Lamarck. DWARF BARBERRY. 

 (Bot. Reg., vol. 26, t. 27.) 



A low, evergreen shrub, rarely more than 12 to 18 ins. high, with slender 

 trailing branches in this country, but, as seen in Chile, often sturdier and more 

 erect ; young shoots red. Leaves | to I in. long, quite narrow (less than \ in.), 

 and made to look still narrower by the margins being curled down ; the apex is 

 spine-tipped. The leaves arise in tufts from the axils of simple, or three-parted 

 spines, j to \ in. long. Flowers produced singly, or two together at each tuft, 

 golden yellow. Fruit nearly black. Blossoms in mid-May. 



Introduced from Chile in 1827 by Messrs Low, then nurserymen at Clapton. 

 Quite distinct from any other barberry in leaf and habit, and the lowest-growing 

 of them all, this little shrub is well worth a place in the rock garden. It is 

 not common, but has played an important part in European horticulture in 

 being one of the parents of the beautiful hybrid B. stenophylla. It was 

 originally discovered by Commerson, the South American traveller. 



B. FENDLERI, A. Gray. FENDLER'S BARBERRY. 



(Garden and Forest, 1888, fig. 72.) 



A deciduous shrub up to 6 ft. high, with stems and branches " shining as if 

 varnished." Leaves glossy green, lanceolate, i^ to 2 ins. long, f to \ in. wide ; 

 stalkless, toothed except at the base, produced in tufts of four or five. Flowers 

 in racemes \\ to 2 ins. long, each flower \ in. across, the outer segments orange- 

 coloured, the inner ones yellow. Fruit red. 



Native of Western N. America ; first found by Mr Fendler near Santa Fe, 

 New Mexico, and afterwards at the forks of the Rio Grande in S. Colorado. 

 It is at present little known, and does not appear to have any particular value 

 for gardens. It is interesting, geographically, as the only West N. American 

 representative of the true barberries, as distinct from Mahonias. 



B. FORTUNEI, Lindley. FORTUNE'S BARBERRY. 



(Mahonia Fortunei, Fedde.} 



An jevergreen shrub, 5 to 6 ft. high, with erect, unbranching stems. Leaves 

 6 to 8 ins. long, pinnate, consisting usually of seven leaflets, which are linear- 

 lanceolate, taper gradually to both ends, and are 2 to 4 ins. long, and about 

 \ in. wide ; margins except towards the base set with forward-pointing teeth ; 

 under-surface marked with prominent, netted veins. Flowers yellow, densely 

 crowded on narrow, cylindrical racemes 2 to 3 ins. long, erect. Blossoming in 

 late autumn (October and November), the species rarely develops fruit in this 

 country. 



Robert Fortune found this shrub cultivated in a nursery at Shanghai, and 

 introduced it in 1846. It has since been found wild in several parts of China. 

 It is rather tender, and will not thrive in the open ground at Kew. In milder 

 districts it grows quite well, as in Canon Ellacombe's garden at Bitton, near 

 Bath, where it flowers annually in October. It is distinct from all the other 

 pinnate-leaved barberries in the narrow, dull green leaflets, and in the slender 

 racemes, less than \ in. in diameter ; but is one of the least effective. 



B. FREMONTII, Torrey. FREMONT'S BARBERRY. 



(Garden and Forest, 1888, fig. 77 ; Mahonia Fremontii, Fedde). 



An evergreen shrub, 3 to 12 ft. high, with pinnate leaves composed of 

 five or seven leaflets of a vividly glaucous colour. Leaflets | to i| ins. long, 



