TREES AND SHRUBS 71 



3. ATRAGENE L. Purple Virgin's Bower 



Perennial vines, woody below, with compound leaves; pedun- 

 cles bearing single large purplish flowers; sepals thin widely spread- 

 ing; some of the outer filaments enlarged and petaloid. 



A single species in the mountains of the north- 

 ern part of the state. 1. A. pseudalpina. 



The Barberry Family is represented in New Mexico by 

 5 species, all of which are more or less woody, though one is 

 but a low plant, rarely over 6 inches tall. 



Fendler's Barberry (Berberis fcndlcri) is a low spines- 

 cent shrub of the mountains of the northern part of the State,. 

 with simple leaves, small yellow flowers, and scarlet berries 

 about the size of currants. It would make a very desirable 

 little hedge plant at Santa Fe and similar elevations. It would 

 probably grow at a lower altitude if given enough water. 



The Oregon Grape (Odostemoh repens) is a small al- 

 most prostrate plant with woody stems 5 or 6 inches long and 

 compound leaves, the individual leaflets of which suggest a 

 holly leaf, though of a different color. The berries are about 

 the size of wild grapes and of much the same color. The plant 

 is of no economic importance. There are three other species 

 of this genus that occur in the State. 



Algerita (Odostemon hacmatocarpa) is a common ever- 

 green shrub in the lower mountains of the southern part of the 

 State and one well worth cultivation. 



It reaches a height of eight to ten feet in favorable loca- 

 tions and forms a bush four or five feet in diameter. The 

 leaves are compound, having three, five and sometimes seven 

 thick, smooth, leathery leaflets, each of which has a few stiff 

 spiny leaves along the margin. They are suggestive of the 

 holly leaves. The bark is stringy and brown ; the wood is a 

 bright yellow color and rather tough ; the flowers are small, 

 light yellow, and borne in clusters about three inches long, 

 blooming in May and June; the fruits, are bright red berries, 

 a little larger than currants, and are ripe in August. In some 

 parts of the State the berries, which are borne in abundance, 



