Berberidaceae

views updated

Berberidaceae A family of herbs and shrubs in whose flowers the perianth is regular, tri- or dimerous, and composed of free parts in 2–7 whorls, the whorls being either alike or different. The ovary consists of a single carpel, forming a berry or capsule. There are 15 genera and about 570 species, mainly confined to the northern temperate zone (but Berberis is almost cosmopolitan).