Common Name: BARBERRY FAMILY
Habit: Perennial herb, shrub, [tree], generally rhizomed, caudexed or not, glabrous, glaucous, or hairy. Stem: spreading to erect, branched or not. Leaf: simple, 1--3-ternate, or pinnately compound, basal and cauline, generally alternate, deciduous or evergreen, petioled, stipuled. Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, or panicle, scapose, terminal, or axillary. Flower: generally bisexual, radial; sepals 6--18 or 0, generally in whorls of 3; petals generally 6, in 2 whorls of 3, or 0; stamens 6--12(13), free or fused at base, in 2 whorls or not, anthers dehiscent by flap-like valves or longitudinal slits; ovary superior, chamber 1, ovules generally 1--10, style 1 or 0, stigma flat or spheric. Fruit: berry, capsule, achene [follicle].
Genera In Family: 16 genera, +- 670 species: temperate, tropics worldwide; some cultivated (Berberis, Epimedium, Nandina (heavenly bamboo), Vancouveria). Note: Lower sepals sometimes called "bracteoles," inner petals "staminodes".
eFlora Treatment Author: Michael P. Williams
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.

Common Name: VANILLA LEAF
Habit: Perennial herb; rhizome scaly; caudex short, erect; wood, especially of roots, often yellow. Leaf: 1--few, basal, long-petioled, 1-ternate; leaflets triangular to fan-shaped, bases tapered. Inflorescence: +- scapose, spike, dense; lateral flowers generally unisexual, terminal bisexual. Flower: perianth 0; stamens (8)9(13), anther valves flap-like, curled inward; ovule 1, style 0, stigma +- flat, furrowed. Fruit: achene, curved, furrowed, brown to red-purple.
Etymology: (Greek: thin mist or obscurity, from inconspicuous flowers)
Unabridged Reference: Terabayashi 1981 Bot Mag (Tokyo) 94:141--157