Engraving of B. aquifolium

Berberis aquifolium

Hand-colored engraving of Berberis aquifolium from Pursh'sFlora Americanae Septentrionalis.
Drawn & Engraved by William Hooker
Courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Unauthorized use prohibited.

1. (right) The undersurface of a leaf.

2. Undersurface of the flower showing three greenish bract-like structures (bracteoles) that subtend the flower proper, with the two whorls of yellowish sepals. On the left is the broad outer sepal (one of three) and next to that is the longer and narrower inner sepal (one of three). Unlike most flowers, the flowers of Berberis have six large and obvious sepals arranged in two whorls of three.

3. The small, bi-lobed petal (one of six arranged in two whorls of three) with an associated stamen (one of six opposite each petal).

4. Detail of the stamen depicting the broad filament with a pair of recurved lateral teeth

5. An ovary with three terminal stigmatic lobes.

William Hooker (1779–1832) was a British botanist and botanical artist employed by the Royal Horticultural Society of London.

--Joseph Mussulman