Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/48



ARBERRY. . Class 6,. Order:. The common barberry is abundant in many parts of the United States. Its close branches and thorns render it peculiarly fit for hedges, and its brilliant red berries are very ornamental to the fields which it encircles. These berries, worn in the hair, have been mistaken for coral ornaments, Preserved in sugar, they form a cheap but much valued dainty among the farmers of New England. The fruit of the barberry is so very acid that birds will seldom eat them. The tree is armed with thorns, and the flowers are so irritable, that at the slightest touch all the stamina close around the pistil. Thus this tree bears all the characteristics of persons whose temper is sharp and irritable.