152 VI. BERBERIDACE^E. JEFFERSONIA. 



ORDER VI. BEKBEKLDACEJE. BERBERIDS. 



Herbs or shrubs, with alternate, usually exstipulate, simple or compound leaves 



F.'s. solitary, racemose of p<micled, perfect. 



CaL Sepals 346 imbricate in 2 rows, often reinforced by petaloid scales. 



Cor. hypogynous. Pet. 13 times as many as the sepals and opposite to them. 



Sta. as many or twice as many as the petals, and opposite to them. 



Anth. generally opening by recurved valves, extrorse. 



Ova. l -celled, solitary, simple. Sty. often lateral. Stig. often lateral or peltate. 



Fr. berried or capsular. 



Sds. one or few, attached to the bottom of the cell, or many, attached to lateral placentae. 



Genera 12, species 100, inhabiting the temperate zones. . Some genera, as the Podophyllum and Jofl-jr- 



sonia, possess cathartic properties. Others, as the Berberis, contain in their fruits malic and oxalic acic. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



$ Petals 8, flowers on a scape ..... Jeffersonia. 3 



(Leaves not peltate. (Petals 6, with a scale at base. . . . Leontice. 4 



Herbs perennial. I Leaves peltate ; stamens 00 ....... . Podophyllum. 3 



Shrubs, with yellow flowers and irritable filaments. ....... Eerl&ris. 1 



1. BERBERIS. 



Calyx of 6, obovate, spreading, colored sepals, with the three outer 

 ones smaller ; corolla of 6 suborbicular petals, with 2 glands at the 

 base of each ; filaments 6, flattened ; anthers 2 separate lobes on 

 opposite edges of the connect ile ; style 0; berry oblong, 1 -celled; 

 seeds 2 or 3. Fine hardy shrubs. 



B. VULGARIS. Berberry Bush. 



Spines 3-forked ; Ivs. simple, serratures terminated by soft bristles ; rcu,. 

 pendulous, many-flowered ; pet. entire. A well known bushy, ornamental shrub, 

 in hard, gravelly soils, Northern States. Grows 3 8f high. Leaves 1| 2' 

 long, \ as wide, round-obtuse at apex, tapering at Lase into the petiole, and 

 remarkably distinguished by their bristly serratures. Flowers yellow, a dozen 

 or more in each hanging cluster. Stamens irritable, springing violently 

 against the stigma when touched. Berries scarlet, very acid, forming an 

 agreeable jelly when boiled with sugar. The bark of the root dyes yellow. 



2. PODOPHYLLUM. 



Gr. TTOVS, ToSos, a foot ; <j>v\\ov , a leaf; alluding to the long, firm petioles. 



Sepals 3, oval, obtuse, concave, caducous ; petals 6 9, obovate, 

 concave; stamens 9 18, with linear anthers; berry large, ovoid, 

 1 -celled, crowned with the solitary stigma. TL Low, rather poisonous 

 herbs. Lvs. 2. Fl. solitary. 



P. PELTATUM. May Apple. Wild Mandrake. 



In woods and fields, common in Middle and Western States, rare in N. 

 Eng. Height about If. It is among our more curious and interesting plants. 

 Stem round, sheathed at base, dividing into 2 round petioles, between which is the 

 flower-. Leaves oftener cordate than peltate, in 5 7 lobes, each lobe 6' long 

 from the insertion of the petiole, 2-lobed and dentate at apex. Flowers pedun- 

 culate, drooping, white, about 2' diam. Petals curiously netted with veins. 

 Fruit ovoid-oblong, large, yellowish, with the flavor of the strawberry. The 

 root is cathartic. May. 



3. JEFFERSONIA. Bart. 



In honor of President Jefferson, a patron of science. 



Sepals 4, colored, deciduous ; petals 8, spreading, incurved ; sta- 

 mens 8, with linear anthers ; stigma peltate ; capsule obovate, stipi- 

 tate, opening by a circumscissile dehiscence. Scape simple, l-Jlowered. 

 Lvs. 2-parted or binate 



J. DIPHYLLA. Barton. 



A singular plant. 8 14' high, Middle and Western States. Rhizoma 

 horizontal. Each petiole bears at the top a pair of binate leaves, which are 

 placed base to base, and broader than long, ending in an obtuse point, glaucous 



