112 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



i. 675) states that a single one is capable of causing nausea and disturbance 

 of the bowels. 



Group III. — Berberales. 



Order 6.— BERBERIDACEiE.— Brown. 



Sepals deciduous, 3 — 6 in two rows. Petals hypogynous, equal in number to the sepals, 

 or twice as many, glandular at base. Stamens as many or twice as many as the petals, 

 and opposite to them. Filaments short. Anthers adnate, opening by recurved valves. 

 Ovary solitary, simple. Style sometimes lateral or oblique, sometimes wanting. Stigma 

 orbicular or peltate. Fruit baccate or' capsular. Seeds 1 or few. Embryo in the axis 

 or near the base of the fleshy or horny albumen. 



The species of this order are natives of the temperate parts of the northern 

 hemisphere, and of the mountainous parts of South America; none are found 

 in Africa, Australasia, or the South Sea islands. The physical properties of 

 them are various, though it may be said that their fruit is generally acid, and 

 somewhat astringent, and their bark astringent and tinctorial. The roots of 

 some of them are edible, whilst in others they are cathartic. The seeds of 

 Leontice thalictroides have been used as a substitute for coffee, whilst the 

 root of the L. leontopetalum is employed at Aleppo instead of soap, and is 

 regarded by the Turks as an antidote against over-doses of opium. 



Berberis. — Linn. 



Sepals 6, with 3 bracts. Petals 6, bi-glandular at base. Stamens 6. Stigma nearly 

 sessile, orbicular. Fruit a 1-celled, 1 — 9-seeded berry. 



The genus Berberis is composed of shrubs, with alternate, petiolate leaves, 

 having spines at their base, formed of the remains of the primary foliage. Many 

 of the species, especially those belonging to the sub-genus or section Mahonia 

 are evergreen. They are mostly natives of cold or temperate climates. 



B. vulgaris. — Linn. Branches dotted, with triple spines. Leaves obovate-oval, closely 

 serrulate. Racemes nodding, many-flowered. Berries oblong. 



Linn. Sp. PI. 472 ; Torrey and Gray, Fl. i. 49 ; Richard, ii. 617 ; Ra- 

 finesque, Med. Fl. i. 82 ; Lindley, Veg. King. 437 f. 305 ; Flor. Med. 63. 

 Common name. — Barberry. 

 Foreign names. — Epine Vinette, Fr. ; Berberitze, Gr. ; Berberi, It. 



Description. — A shrub from four to eight feet high, with long bending branches, which 

 are dotted. The leaves are crowded, and form fan-like groups; they are alternate, petio- 

 late, and closely serrate ; at their base are small thorns, which are a transformation of 

 the primary leaves. The flowers are on slender and pendulous racemes ; they are yellow 

 and small ; they are succeeded by loose bunches of berries, of an oblong form and red 

 colour, of a pleasant acid taste. 



The Barberry is a native of Europe, but is naturalized in many parts of 

 the United States, especially in New England. Some confusion has exist- 

 ed among botanists, respecting the American plant, some considering it 

 as a variety of, or even distinct from, the European, mistaking it for the plant 

 originally indicated by Marshall as found in Virginia, and described by Pursh, 

 under the erroneous name of Canadensis, as it has not been found in that 

 country, being confined to the Southern States. In consequence, however, of 

 the habitat he assigned to it, most of our botanists have considered that he had 

 in view the naturalized plant, and hence this is generally separated from the 



