94 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXIII 



While all these conditions are not strictly man- 

 datory, and their spirit will be liberally interpreted, 

 they will be considered in the granting or renewal 

 of each permit, and evidence of gross violation of 

 them may be deemed sufficient ground for the re- 



fusal of an application or for the revocation of any 

 permit already granted. 



It is hoped and expected that the justice of these 

 principles will be realized and that collectors w:il 

 co-operate in advancing science to the utmost with- 

 out unnecessary waste of valuable bird life. 



RIBES DIVARICATUM X RIBES LOBBII. 



By J. K. Henry, Vancouver, B.C. 



A few years ago Mr. George H. Knight, nursery- 

 man, Mount Tolmie, Victoria, B.C., found a pecul- 

 iar gooseberry growing among Ribes divaricaiuni 

 Dougl. and R. Lobbii Gray, at Mill Hill, Vancouver 

 Island. He removed it to his nursery and propa- 

 gated it. It fruited freely, as R. Lobbii usually does, 

 producing claret-colored berries of excellent flavor. 

 Finally blundering workmen grubbed it up. The 

 plant is now known to exist only in the nursery 

 of Mr. George Eraser, Ucluelet, to whom Mr. 

 Knight, remembering his friend's interest in hybrids, 

 had sent cuttings. 



In April, 1919, Mr. Eraser sent me flowering 

 specimens of the plant, which show pretty clearly 

 that it is, as Mr. Eraser surmised, a natural hybrid 

 between R. divaricaium and R. Lobbii. The com- 

 bination of two such important characteristics as 

 the hairy style of R. divaricatum and the glandular 

 ovary of R. Lobbii is alone almost conclusive evid- 

 ence of its parentage. 



In general appearance the plant looks like a 

 small-flowered specimen of R. Lobbii. It has the 

 pubescent shoots, the triple spines, and, in its spring 

 form, the glandular leaves and the glandular-pube- 

 scent petioles of that species. The pubescence of 

 the mature petioles is, however, hardly at all glan- 

 dular. The evidence of its hybrid nature is found 

 not only in the combination of these characteristics 

 of R. Lobii with the small flowers of R. divaricatum, 

 but especially in the flowers and the inflorescence. 

 The relationship of these plants may be further in- 

 dicated by the following analysis: 



r. divaricatum. 



Elowers (ovary and calyx) 7-10 mm. long; in 

 number 1-4, usually 2; peduncles smooth; pedicels 

 smooth, longer than the bracts; ovary smooth; style 



hirsute; calyx-tube greenish, smooth; sepals dark 

 purple, smooth; petals fan-shaped; anthers green. 



r. lobbii. 



Elowers (ovary and calyx), 14-20 mm. long; in 

 number 1-4, usually 1 or 2; peduncles glandular- 

 pubescent; pedicels glandular-pubescent, shorter 

 than the bracts; ovary glandular; style smooth; 

 calyx-tube dark red, pubescen! ; sepals dark red, 

 pubescent ; petals wedge-shaped ; anthers purple. 



R. divaricatum X r. lobbii. 



Elowers (ovary and calyx) 8-10 mm. long; in 

 number usually 3, (D) ; peduncles smooth or nearly 

 so, (D) ; pedicels smooth or nearly so, longer than 

 the bracts, (D) ; ovary grandular, (L) ; style hir- 

 sute, (D) ; calyx-tube greenish, nearly smooth, (D) ; 

 sepals dark red, pubescent, (L) ; petals wedge- 

 shaped, (L) ; anthers green, (D). 



(D and L indicate that the characteristics are 

 those of R. divaricatum and R. Lobbii respectively.) 



While this evidence is fairly conclusive, one can- 

 not affirm with certainty that the plant is a hybrid 

 until the character of its progeny is known. At 

 Ucluelet the plant does not set fruit. At Victoria 

 it fruited abundantly, the claret-colored berries be- 

 ing somewhat intermediate in hue between the dark 

 red of y^. Lobbii and the deep purple of R. divari- 

 catum. Eurther, one hesitates to be dogmatic, since 

 not only are Ribes hybrids produced with difficulty 

 by the horticulturist, but natural hybrids of this 

 genus are unknown in North America. This note 

 is published pending further investigations in order 

 that collectors on Vancouver Island and in the 

 States of the Northern Pacific coast may be on the 

 look-out for the plant. 



