GROSSULACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 26. 



RIBES. 



Calyx 5-lobed, the segments more or less coloured. Petals 5, 

 minute, scale-like. Stamens 5, distinct, inserted in the throat 

 of the calyx. Styles 1-2-3-4-cleft. Berry 1 -celled, succulent, 

 with narrow parietal placentae. Seeds oblong, slightly compressed. 



133. R. rubrum Linn. sp. pi. 290. Eng. Bot. t. 1289. DC. 

 prodr. iii. 481 Woods in many parts of Europe. (Red Cur- 

 rant.) 



Leaves bluntly 3-5-lobed, downy beneath, smooth above. Racemes 

 nodding. Bracts blunt, shorter than the pedicels. Calyx flattened out, 

 spreading, with obtuse lobes. Petals somewhat obcordate. — The juice 

 of the fruit is refrigerant, and very grateful to the parched palates of 

 persons suffering from fever. 



134. R. nigrum Linn. sp. pi. 291. Eng. Bot. t. 1291. DC. 

 prodr. iii. 481. — Woods in some parts of Europe and Siberia. 

 (Black Currant.) 



Leaves 3-5-lobed, with glandular dots underneath. Racemes lax. 

 Bracts minute, subulate or blunt, much shorter than the pedicel. 

 Calyx campanulate, with reflexed segments. Petals oblong. Berries large 

 and black. — Fruit, leaves, and wood, tonic and stimulant. A juice 

 prepared from the fruit is used in domestic medicine against catarrhs. 



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