Contributions to the Knowledge of the Old 

 World Species of the Genus Mahonia. 



H. TAKEDA, D.I.C. 



With Plates I-XXXVII. 



The genus Mahonia comprises numerous species which are 

 distributed mainly over Asia and America. The genus was 

 thoroughly examined by Fedde from systematic, anatomical, 

 and morphological points of view.* This author maintains the 

 opinion that the genus Mahonia should be treated as quite 

 distinct from Berberis.-\ Recently Rehder has put back a few 

 species to Berberis, but without giving any reasons. $ 



Since the publication of Fedde's monograph several new 

 species have been described, chiefly from China. In Fedde's 

 work there are mentioned some seven species occurring in 

 China. This number was increased by Hemsley and Wilson in 

 describing a new species in i9o6,§ and soon afterwards by 

 Gagnepain with three new species in 1908.H Meanwhile Leveille 

 added another species M. gtuipicusis, which is however of a 

 doubtful nature.^ Quite recently, in 1913, C. K. Schneider, 

 who worked out Wilson's Chinese Berberideae, has added seven 

 new species.** He also gives in the same publication an enumer- 

 ation of all the known Asiatic species, accompanied by an ana- 

 lytical key. According to this author, there are eighteen species 

 known to occur in Asia, and all except two species are natives 

 of China. Sprague has lately pointed out that M. confusa, 

 Sprague, which was published in 1912, is not included in this 

 enumeration, and that at least some of the specimens referred 

 by Schneider to M. Fortune! represent the co-type specimens of 



* Fedde, Versuch einer Monographic der Gattung Mahonia, in Engl. Bot. 



. Soc. Bot. Fr. lv, 1908. 

 im Chinense xciv, in Fedde, Repert. < 

 in Sargent, PL Wilsonianae, i, pt. 3, 

 :, Jan. i 9 i7-J 



