FIG. 244. BERBERIS NEPALENSIS.
B. nepalensis (Nepaulese).* fl. yellow; racemes few, elongated, slender. l. 1ft. to 2ft. long; leaflets five to nine pairs, obovate-oblong, cuspidate, rounded at the base, repand-toothed, with five to ten spiny teeth on each side, tricuspidate at the apex. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Nepaul. A very handsome species, thriving best in the southern parts of England. SYN. Mahonia nepalensis. See Fig. 244.
B. nervosa (large-nerved). fl., racemes elongated. October. l., leaflets five to six pairs, with an odd one, the lower pair distant from the petiole; ovate, acuminated, remotely spiny toothed, somewhat three to five-nerved, with twelve to fourteen teeth on each side. h. 1ft. to 3ft. North America, 1826. SYNS. B. glumacea, Mahonia nervosa. (B. M. 3949.)
B. repens (creeping).* fl., racemes terminal, numerous, fascicled, diffuse, rising from the scaly buds. Spring. l., leaflets, two to three pairs, with an odd one, roundish-ovate, opaque, spiny toothed. h. 1ft. to 2ft. North America, 1822. SYN. Mahonia repens. (B. R. 1176.)
B. ruscifolia (Ruscus-leaved). fl. a little larger than those of B. vulgaris; peduncles short, bearing four to five flowers at the apex. l. oblong, tapering at the base, mucronate, entire, or grossly and spiny toothed. h. 4ft. to 8ft. South America, 1823. Half-hardy.
B. sinensis (Chinese).* fl., racemes many-flowered, nodding. May. l. oblong, obtuse, entire, or the lower ones are a little toothed; spines three-parted. h. 3ft. to 6ft. China, 1815. (B. M. 6573.)
FIG. 245. BERBERIS STENOPHYLLA, showing Habit and Flowering Twig.
B. stenophylla (naked-leaved),* with narrow mucronate leaves, is said to be a hybrid between B. empetrifolia and B. Darwinii. See Fig. 245.
B. trifoliata (three-leafleted). fl., racemes small, axillary, sessile, three to five-flowered. Spring. l., leaflets three, sessile at the ends of the petioles, deeply scalloped, bluish-green, variegated, glaucous beneath. h. 5ft. Mexico, 1839. Evergreen, not quite hardy. (P. F. G. 2, 168.)
B. trifurcata (three-forked). fl., racemes compound, erect. Spring. l. pinnate; leaflets broad, three-forked. h. 6ft. China, 1850. Evergreen. (P. F. G. 3, 258.)
B. umbellata (umbellate). fl., peduncles solitary, erect, bearing at the top several umbellate pedicels. l. obovate-oblong, mucronate, entire, glaucous beneath; spines three-parted, long, equal. h. 6ft. Nepaul, 1842. (P. F. G. 2, 181.)
B. vulgaris (common).* Common Barberry. fl., racemes many-flowered, pendulous. Spring. l. somewhat obovate, ciliately-serrated; spines three-parted. h. 8ft. to 20ft. Britain, &c. There are yellow, violet, purple, black, and white fruited, and purple-leaved forms. (Sy. En. B. 51.)
B. Wallichiana (Wallich's).* fl. on drooping, aggregated peduncles, six to eight or more in a cluster. Spring. l. in alternate fascicles, 2in. to 3in. long, spreading or recurved, lanceolate, sinuato-serrate; spines deeply three-parted, slender but rigid. h. 6ft. to 10ft. Nepaul, 1820. See Fig. 246. (B. M. 4656.)
BERCHEMIA (in honour of M. Berchem, a French botanist). ORD. Rhamnaceæ. A genus of erect, or twining, deciduous, mostly greenhouse shrubs. Flowers sub-umbellate, in the axils of the upper leaves, or disposed in terminal panicles. Leaves alternate, many-nerved, entire. The species mentioned below is probably the only one yet in cultivation. It is quite hardy, will grow in any common soil, and is well adapted for bowers or trellis-work. Propagated by ripened cuttings, and slips of the root, planted under a hand glass; or by layering the young shoots.
B. volubilis (twining).* fl. greenish-white; panicles small, axillary and terminal. Drupe oblong, violaceous. June. l. oval, mucronate, a little wavy. Branches smooth. Carolina, 1714. A deciduous twiner. (G. G. 165.)
BERGAMOT. See Mentha odorata.
BERGERA (named after C. J. Berger, a distinguished Danish botanist). ORD. Rutaceæ. Interesting stove evergreen trees, now usually referred to Murraya. Leaves impari-pinnate; leaflets alternate, acuminated, pubescent. They thrive in a mixture of turfy loam and peat. Propagated by ripened cuttings, taken off at a joint, and placed in sand, under a hand glass, in bottom heat; or by layers.