20 
III. MENISPERMACE ZE 
ovate ; petal 1, opposite the sepal, similar but smaller and deeply 
lobed; ovary 1, hairy, style shortly 3-fid. Drupe hairy, globose, 
scarlet. (Dig. 7.) 
Common in valleys below Simla ; May-August. — Throughout India, ascend- 
ing to 6000 ft. — All warm regions. 
Ropes are manufactured from the strong fibres of the stems. 
IV. BERBERIDACE^E 
Erect shrubs or herbs. Leaves alternate or tufted, simple, 
sometimes deeply lobed. Flowers regular, 2-sexual, racemed or 
solitary. Sepals 3 or 6, free, imbricate, petal-like. Petals 6, 
similar to the sepals. Stamens 6, free, opposite the petals, 
anthers 2-celled, opening by upturned valves or lateral slits. 
Ovary 1 -celled, ovules few or many ; style terminal, short or 
none, stigma large. Fruit a berry.- — A small Order inhabiting 
chiefly temperate and mountainous regions. 
Shrubs. Flowers small, yellow, racemed . . . .1. Berberis. 
Herbs. Flowers large, pink or white, solitary . . .2. Podophyllum . 
1. BERBERIS. The Arabic name. — N. temperate regions- 
including Britain (Barberry) S. America. 
Shrubs ; wood yellow. Leaves in tufts of ten having 3-5- 
branched spines at the base, simple, spiny-toothed, rarely entire. 
Flowers less than \ in. diam., globose, yellow, in bracteate, simple 
or compound racemes. Sepals 6, petal-like, the outer smaller. 
Petals 6, usually shorter than the sepals, 2 -glandular at the base. 
Stamens 6, anther-cells opening by upturned valves. Ovules 
few. Style short or none, stigma broad, peltate. Berry globose 
or ovoid, usually covered with bloom. Seeds few. 
The mature stamens of Barberry flowers possess a curious irritability ; if 
touched by an insect they spring forward and jerk out the pollen. — The small, 
orange or red, raised spots often seen on barberry leaves are a stage in the life 
of the parasitic fungus that produces ‘ rust ’ in wheat and other grasses. The 
connection between barberry bushes and ‘ rust ’ had been suspected by farmers 
long before it was scientifically ascertained to exist. — The wood furnishes a 
yellow dye used by natives for colouring leather; the fruit is eaten.— Several 
species of Berberis having pinnate leaves (Sect. Mahonia ) are cultivated in 
gardens, and one (B. nepalensis ) occurs wild in the Himalaya but not near 
Simla. 
Style none, stigma sessile. 
Leaves lf-2^ in. ; teeth numerous, close-set . . 1. B. vulgaris. 
Leaves f-f in. ; teeth few . . ... 2. B. brachybotrys . 
Style short but distinct. 
Flowers in compound, long-stalked racemes, much 
longer than the leaves 3. B. aristata. 
