84 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



leaves turn beautiful shades of red. Both the species and variety are often 

 cultivated as ornamentals. 



Field Guide to the Varieties 



Shrubs usually more than 3 feel high; leaves % 'o 2 inches long; flowers white; 



found in Rocky Mountains /. americana. 



Shrubs usually less than 3 feet high; leaves |/2 to 1/4 inches long; flowers deep 



pink; found in California Var. calif ornica. 



Cliffbush (Jamesia americana T. & G.). — Diffusely branching shrub 

 3 to 6 feet high; leaves elhptic to oval, % to 2 inches long, with one main 

 vein from base and prominent lateral veins, green above, densely white-hairy 

 below, the margins coarsely toothed; flowers borne in small dense clusters at 

 the ends of the branchlets, white, the petals 5, I/4 to i/^ inch long; capsules 

 slender-beaked, splitting from the top into 3 to 5 (or 7) sections; seeds many. 



Occurrence. — rocky mountain, 8,400 to 10,700 feet: northwest of Estes Cone. 

 ZION. 



California Cliffbush (Var. caltjomka (T. & G.) Jepson. — Differs 

 from the species in being a smaller, sometimes trailing shrub ^2 to 3 feet high, 

 with reddish or grayish stems, smaller leaves 1/2 to II/4 inches long, and 

 rose- pink flowers. 



Occurrence.- — kings canyon: Harrison Pass trail, sequoia, common on the east 

 side, 8,500 to 12,000 feet: Hamilton Creek; Kern-Kaweah River; Kaweah Peaks; 

 White Chief Mountain; Mount Whitney; Mineral King region. 



Saxifrage Family (Saxifragaceae) 

 Currants and Gooseberries (R.bes L.) 



The generic name, Rlbes, is apparently derived from ribas, the Arabic 

 name for a species of rhubarb (Rheum ribes), from which a famous Arabic 

 syrup was made. Later, a similar-tasting syrup made in Europe from the 

 berries of red currants was also called "ribas." ^" The name Ribes as applied 

 to this group of shrubs was published by Linnaeus in 1737. 



Currants and gooseberries are widely distributed and abundant in the 

 United States, and many species are represented in the western national parks. 

 The plants are easily recognized in Summer and Fall by the characteristic 

 berries with which everyone is familiar. Ordinarily, the gooseberry bushes, 

 because of their spiny or prickly stems, may be readily distinguished from 

 the smooth-stemmed currants. There are, however, several exceptions to this 

 rule in the parks, namely, two species of prickly stemmed currants, prickly 

 currant (R. lacustre) and gooseberry currant (R. montigenum) , and one 

 gooseberry, white-stemmed gooseberry (/?. inerme), whose stems are some- 

 times without spines or prickles. The fruits offer the surest means of dis- 

 tinguishing between the two groups of Ribes. Gooseberries break away from 

 the stems with short stalks attached to the berries, while currant fruits break 



17 Range Plant Handbook, B 130: United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Forest Service. 1937. 



