Berberideae

Berberideae, the natural order of dicotyledonous plants to which the barberry belongs. There are 12 genera and over 100 species in the order, which is absent from Africa; and Australasia. They are shrubs or herbaceous perennials with scattered leaves, generally compound and spinous; sepals, petals, and stamens generally equal in number; stamens opposite the petals and dehiscing by valves, and fruit of one carpel, either dry or succulent. Bitter astringent properties prevail throughout the group.