Ribes Aureum and Mihes Lenturn. 25 



Columbia plant Hides tenui/lomm, retaining the name aureum 

 for the Missouri plant. Previous to this, however, Berlandier 

 had divided Pursh's Ribes aureum into two species, aureum and 

 flavum* a treatment of the group in which he was followed by 

 Collaf. There is, furthermore, a still earlier segregation of 

 Ribes aureum, in the year 1816, in the Botanical Register, 

 which takes precedence over the work of all these writers. 



In the paper in question J Ribes aureum was treated by Ker 

 as a species inclixding both the Columbia plant and the Missouri 

 plant, but the latter was made an unnamed variety of the 

 former with the diagnosis "Foliis villosiusculis, pedunculis 

 villosissimis." Following this diagnosis is the citation: 



Ribes longiflorum. Fraser's cat. (1813). Ad specim. plura 

 spontanea lecta ad Missouri fluvium a D. Nixttall et in Louisiana 

 superiori a D. Bradbury in Herb. Dom. A. B. Lambert asser- 

 vata. 



In Fraser's Catalogue the name Ribes longiflorum is a nomen 

 nudum, but in this paper by Ker, as shown above, a brief but 

 correct diagnosis is given with a citation of type specimens and 

 a type locality, and an excellent colored plate made from plants 

 grown from Nuttall's imported seeds or cuttings. With re- 

 ference to the tyi^e locality, it should be noted that Nuttall and 

 Bradbury did not ascend the Missouri farther than the eastern 

 part of Mercer County, North Dakota, and did not, therefore, 

 meet with the Columbia plant. 



It may be well to add, as a sort of postscript to this Short 

 paper, a suggestion regarding the making of supposed new^ 

 species in the aureum group of Ribes, should the wide range 

 and variable character of the group lead anyone to the publica- 

 tion of such species. The group is already supplied with an 

 assortment of names amply sufficient for most nomenclatorial 

 purposes and the availability of any of the supply on hand 

 should be ascertained before any new name is added. The 



*Berlandier, Mem. Soc. Phys. Geneve 32: 60. 1826. 

 fColla, Mem. Accad. Torin33:114. 1826-9. 

 tKer, Bot. Reg. 2: t. 125. 1816. 



