BARBERRY FAMILY 



BERBERIDACEAE 



TWINLEAF. RHEUMATISM ROOT 



Jeffersonia diphylla (L. ) Pers. 



In rich woods of the central and northern parts of the state, 

 as well as throughout the Great Lakes region and south to 

 Tennessee, grows a plant that in many respects resembles the 



Bloodroot, page 119, but is 

 more closely related to the 

 Common Barberry. This 

 is the Twinleaf or Rheuma- 

 tism Root. It received its 

 generic name in honor of 

 Thomas Jefferson. 



Each blade of the long- 

 petioled basal leaves is 

 divided into 2 leaflets which 

 appear exactly alike and sd 

 account for the name Twin- 

 leaf. At flowering time the 

 leaves are small but later 

 their stalks may become i 

 foot in length and the blades 

 4 inches long or longer. 

 The flower stalk also elon- 

 gates and may be i foot or 

 more in length by the time 

 the fruit is mature. 



The stalk, slender and 

 leafless, arises in April or 

 May and bears a solitary 

 white flower. The sepals 

 fall off as the flower opens but there remain about 8 petals, as 

 many stamens and a solitary pistil with a 2-lobed stigma. The 

 pear-shaped pod fruit opens by a half-lid at the top. Numerous 

 seeds are arranged in several rows. Each seed has upon 1 side 

 a fleshy outgrowth called an aril. Ants feed on this aril and 

 frequently carry the seeds from place to place, thus aiding their 

 dissemination. 



A moonlit path hemmed iu by beds of bloom. 

 Where phlox and marigolds dispute for room 

 With tall, red dahlias and the briar rose. 



The Fruit Oarden Path — Amy Lowkll 



116 



