88 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



streams in the aspen and spruce forests, but it may also occur in wet places 

 on exposed rocky hillsides. The species name, petiolare, refers to the long 

 leaf-stalks characteristic of the plant. Deer and elk utilize the herbage 

 during the Fall and may even eat the small shoots and twigs during the 

 Winter. The berries have a peculiar musky odor and are obnoxious to 

 humans, but are eaten with relish by birds and small mammals. The un- 

 pleasant odor probably explains why this species is sometimes known as dog 

 currant. 18 



This species is scarcely more than a variety of the following species and 

 is considered by some as synonymous with it. 



Occurrence. — YELLOWSTONE: Mammoth; near Rustic Falls between Mammoth and 

 Norris Junction. GRAND TETON, 6,000 to 8,500 feet: Death Canyon; ridge between 

 Open Canyon and Granite Canyon; Wilson road near entrance to J. Y. Ranch; Cas- 

 cade Canyon trail; trail north of Bearpaw Lake. 



3. Hudson Bay Currant (Ribes hudsomanum Rich.). — Erect shrub; 

 leaves broader than long, II/4 to 4 inches wide, 3- to 5-lobed, the lobes coarse- 

 ly toothed, hairy and resinous-glandular below; the leaf-stems shorter than the 

 blades, flowers white, hairy, scattered along slender erect stems \ to l^/j inches 

 long; berries purple-black, gland-dotted. 



Occurrence. — iSLE ROYALE: cedar swamp near Pickerel Cove. 



4. Trailing Black Currant (Ribes laxiflorum Pursh). — Erect shrub 

 3 to 6 feet high or the stems more or less prostrate; bark smooth, often 

 copper-colored; leaves maple-like with heart-shaped base and toothed margins, 

 smooth and shiny above, somewhat hairy and gland-dotted below, 1^^ to 5 

 inches across; flowers saucer-shaped, about Y^ inch across, purplish, borne in 

 spreading or erect several-flowered clusters I1/2 to 4 inches long; sepals smooth; 

 berries dark purple-black with a bloom, small, not usually over ^4 ^^^ ^ 

 diameter, covered with gland-tipped hairs; occurs in moist locations. (Syns. 

 R. Howelli Greene, R. acerifolium Howell.) 



Occurrence. — Olympic, common, 4,000 to 6,000 feet; Mount Angeles; head of 

 Duckabush River ; Marmot Pass ; Lake Constance ; Seven Lakes Basin ; source of 

 Boulder Creek, 5 miles above Olympic Hot Springs. MOUNT RAINIER, abundant, 4,500 

 to 8,000 feet: Goat Mountain; Lodi Creek; Huckleberry Creek; Grand Park; trail to 

 Reflection Lake; Mystic Lake; near snout of Nisqually Glacier; Mazama Ridge. 



4a, Colorado Black Currant (Var. coloradense (Cov.) Jancz.). — A 

 decumbent or prostrate shrub differing from the species in having glandular- 

 hairy sepals and berries without a bloom. (Syn. R. coloradense Cov.) 



Occurrence. — rocky mountain, occasional at high elevations: Moraine Park. 



RoTHROCK Currant {Ribes Wolfi Rothr.) has been reported from 

 Rocky Mountain National Park. This is also a black currant differing from 

 Colorado black currant in having the leaves less deeply lobed and the berries 

 usually with a bloom. 



18 Range Plant Handbook, B 132: United States Department of Agriculture, For- 

 est Service. 1937. 



