berberales

pl. [Bot. Lat. berberales, from berberis (q.v.).] The Berberal Alliance. Bot. Lindley's 33rd Alliance of Plants. He places it under his 2nd Exogenous sub-cla Hypogenous Exogens, and includes under it the orders Droseraceæ, Fumariaceæ, Berberidaceæ, Vitaceæ, Pittosporaceæ, Olacaceæ, and Cyrillaceæ (q.v.). ber-ber-i-dā'-çě-æ ( Lindley ), ber-ber-id'ĕ- ( Ventenat, Lat.), ber-ber-ids ( Eng. ), s. pl. [BERBERIS.] Bot . An order of plants, the typical one of the Alliance Berberales. The sepals are three, four, or six in a double row, and surrounded by petaloid scales. The petals are equal in number to the sepals, or there are twice as many. The stamens are equal in number to the petals, and opposite to them; the anther valves are recurved. There is a solitary free one-celled carpel, with sutural placentæ. Seeds, many or two. Fruit, berried or capsular. Leaves alternate. Compound shrubs or perennial herbs found in Europe, America, and India. Species known in 1846 = 110 (Lindley). Their prevailing quality is astringency or slight acidity. [For details see BERBERIS, EPIMEDIUM, BONGARDIA, and LEONTICE.] The order is divided into two sections, (1) Berberideæ, and (2) Nandinese (q.v.).