VI. BERBERA CEE: BE'RBERIS. 43 
Spec. Char., $c. Spines 3-parted. Leaves somewhat 
obovate, ciliately serrated. Racemes many-flowered, 
pendulous. Petals entire. (Don's Mill.) A spread- 
ing, many-stemmed, deciduous shrub. Europe, and 
Britain in hedges and copses, and naturalised in many 
parts of Asia and America. Height 6 ft. to 10 ft. 
Flowers yellow; May and June. Berries red ; ripe 
in September. Decaying leaves reddish yellow. 
Naked wood yellowish white. 
Varieties. 
& Bs v. 2 litea. — Fruit yellow, sometimes stone- 
ess. 
& B.v. 3 dlba.—Fruit white. 
x B. v. 4 violacea. — Fruit violaceous ’ 
a B.v. 5 purpurea. B.innominata Kalm.— Fruit @@ 
purple; leaves narrow, hardly ciliated. vi 
= B. v. 6 nigra. — Fruit black; leaves oblong, ci- 
liately serrated, serratures few. The fruit of 
than that of the common berberry. Leaves of 
a bright shining green. Native of Austria, 
where it was first considered to be a distinct species, till the fruit 
of plants raised from its seed was found to be as acid as that of 
the common berberry, It is now, however, propagated by layers ; 
the leaves and fruit are considerably larger than those of the species, 
and the fruit is found perfectly sweet and agreeable to eat. In 
short, this variety is to the common berberry, what the apple is to 
the crab. 
& B. v. 8 aspérma. The seedless Berberry. — Fruit destitute of seeds. 
Miller, and also Du Hamel, both say that suckers taken from this 
variety commonly produce fruit with seeds; that, as the tree grows 
older, the seeds become fewer, and that it is the age of the plant 
that at last causes the fruit to be seedless; in that case this plant 
must be considered more a variation than a variety. B. v. aspérma 
is said by Du Hamel to produce the best fruit for preserving; and 
it is from it that the delicious Conjitures d’E’pine vinette, for which 
Rouen is so celebrated, are made. (Nouv. Duh., iv. p. 13.) : 
x B. v. 9 longifolia Booth. — Leaves longer than those of the species. 
= B.v. 10 glaica. B. glatica Booth.— Leaves glaucous. Mr. Gordon 
considers this plant as related to B. sibirica; but, as it has not yet 
flowered in the Horticultural Society’s Garden this point cannot be 
determined. (See Gard. Mag., vol. xvi. p. 2.) 
2 B. v. 11 mitis.— Shoots without spines. Leaves glaucous, rather 
broader. ; 
& B. v. 12 provincialis Schrad. — Young shoots brown. Leaves and fruit 
as in the common berberry. ; 
All these varieties are in the London Horticultural Society’s Garden. 
Other Varieties. In the Horticultural Society’s Garden a number of 
alleged species of berberries have been raised from seed, which have all 
proved varieties of B. vulgaris, and most of them so slight, as to be scarcely 
worth keeping distinct. (See Gard. iMag., vol. xvi. p. 2.) 
The common berberry will live for two or three centuries, without increasing . 
much in size. The wood is hard and brittle, of a yellow colour, and but 
little used except for dyeing. The rate of growth, when the plant is young, 
is rapid; and, in consequence, in five or six years it will attain the height of 
e) 
54 Bérberis vulgaris. 
