4G BF.ARBERRY. 



coloured segments. The stamens are ten in number, about half 

 as long as the corolla, and inserted into its base ; the anthers 

 are two-celled, and furnished with two horn-like appendages. 

 The germen is ovate or globose, superior, seated on a glandular 

 disk, and bears a cylindrical erect style, terminated by an obtuse 

 stigma. The fruit is a small, spherical, depressed berry of a 

 deep red colour, containing an austere mealy pulp, and five 

 cells, in each of which is lodged a hard brown seed. Plate III., 

 fig. 4. (a) cluster of ripe fruit ; (6) corolla opened, to show the 

 stamens ; (c) stamen ; (c/) berry cut horizontally, to show the 

 cells. 



This hardy evergreen shrub is widely diffused over the globe, 

 being equally abundant under the genial skies of France and 

 Spain, and the inhospitable climate of Lapland. In North Ame- 

 rica, it grows from Hudson's-bay to the central parts of the 

 United States. It is found in the North of England and Ire- 

 land, and is especially frequent in the Highlands of Scotland. 

 It prefers alpine, heathy, and rocky places, and often covers the 

 ground with beds of considerable extent. It flowers in May. 



It derives its Latin name according to. Theis, from ar, rongh, 

 and hoise, a bush, in Celtic. 



Horses, cows, goats, and sheep refuse it, but the berries afford 

 an excellent food for the moor-fowl. 



Qualities. — The Bearberry has no remarkable odour in any 

 of its parts. The leaves are at first austere to the taste, and 

 have a slight bitterness, which is not unpleasant. When dried 

 and reduced to powder, they have a fragrant smell, and are far 

 more bitter than when recent. The bark is more astringent and 

 less bitter, while the wood is almost insipid. The berries are 

 nearly tasteless, but leave behind a slight degree of astrin- 

 gency. 



Both water and alcohol extract the virtues of the leaves, and 

 the watery infusion takes a deep black colour on the addition of 

 sulphate of iron. Chemical analysis has shewn that they con- 

 tain a large proportion of tannin, and Linnaeus * states, that 

 great quantities of the leaves and branches are gathered in the 

 north of Sweden and sent to Stockholm, where they are bought 

 by tanners, for the same purpose as the sumach (Rhus Coriaria). 

 They are also used to dye wool. 



* Flora Lapponica, p. 130. 



