CHAP. VIII. 



BERBERS CEJF.. BE'RBERIS. 



30 I 



A. Leaves thin, deciduous. Floivcrs solitary. 

 ft 1. J?, sibi'rica Pall. The Siberian Berberry. 



Identification. Pall. Fl. Ross., 2. p. 42. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 108.; Don's 



Mill., 1. p. 117. ; Pen. Cyc, 4. p. 260. 

 Synonymcs. B. altaica Pall. ; Vinettier de Sib£rie, Fr. 

 Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., 2. t. 67. ; and our fig. 46. 



Spec. Char., Arc. Spines 3 — 7-parted. Leaves lanceolate- 

 obovate, ciliately serrated. Peduncles 1 -flowered, shorter 

 than the leaves. (Don's Mill., i. 117.) — A small shrub, 

 found in rocky places, on the hills and lower mountains 

 of Altai, Siberia, &c, and introduced into England by 

 Pallas in 1790- Pallas states that the priests of the 

 Mongols, who also act as physicians, being taught by 

 the Tunguti, use the bark of the trunk and the yellow 

 pulpy matter of the root for various diseases ; and that 

 a decoction of the young twigs is sometimes applied 

 with a pencil to the eyes as a charm. In British gardens 

 this species is a low scrubby bush, seldom exceeding 

 2 ft. in height. Price, in London, 10.?, 6d. each. 



B. Leaves thin, mostly deciduous. Flowers in Racemes. 



m 2. B. vulgaris L. The common Berberry. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 472. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 105. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 115. 



Synonymes. Pipperidge Tree, Dr. Turner ; E'pine vinette, Fr. ; gemeine Berberitze, Ger. 



Engravings. Eng. Bot, t. 49. ; Willd. Baum., t. 39. ; E. of PI., 4922. 



Spec. Char. Spines 3-parted. Leaves somewhat obovate, ciliately serrated. 

 Racemes many-flowered, pendulous. Petals entire. (Don's Mill., i. p. 115.) 

 Varieties. These are numerous. Those recognised by De Candolle and G. 

 Don are as follows : — 



afc B. v . 2 lutea. The yelloiv-fruited common Berberry. — Fruit yellow. 



s& B. v . 3 alba. The white-frmted common Berberry. — Fruit white. 



flfc B. v. 4 violdcea. The wo&tf-coloured-fruited common Berberry. — Fruit 



violaceous. 

 s& B. v. 5 purpurea. The piwple-fr uited common Berberry. — Fruit purple, 



leaves narrow, hardly ciliated. B. innominata Kielm. 

 as B. v. 6 nigra. The black-fruited common Berberry. — Fruit black ; leaves 

 oblong, ciliately serrated, serratures few. The fruit of this plant 

 is said by Tournefort, who found it on the banks of the Euphrates, 

 to be of delicious flavour. 

 & B. v. 7 dulcis. The sweet-{vu\\ed common Berberry. — Fruit red, some- 

 what less acid than that of the common berberry. Leaves of a bright 

 shining green. Native of Austria. 

 as B. v. 8 asperma. The seedless Berberry. — Fruit destitute of seeds. Miller, 

 and also Du Hamel, both say that suckers taken from this variety com- 

 monly 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 con- 

 sidered more a variation than a variety. B. v. asperma is said by 

 Du Hamel to produce the best fruit for preserving ; and it is from it 

 that the delicious Confitures d? E'pine vinette, for which Rouen is so 

 celebrated, are made. (Nov. Duh., iv. p. 13.) Price, 2s. 6d. each. 

 All these varieties are in the garden of the London Horticultural Society. 



Other Varieties. Dr. Lindley says, that " there is in the Catalogues a Ca- 

 nadian berberry, which appears to be nothing more than a common berberry, 

 brought from North America ; and also Berberis daurica and altaica, 

 neither of which merits to be distinguished from B. vulgaris." 

 Description. In a wild state, the common berberry is seldom found higher 

 than 4 ft. or 5 ft., but in a state of culture it may be grown to nearly 30 ft. 



