140 PENTANDRIA. MONOGTNIA, 



is confined to North America, with the exception of a 3d 

 species said to grow in Madagascar? The root is emetic 

 and cathartic. 



f ttf Flowers pentapetalous, superior. 



217. RIBES. L. (Currant and Gooseberry.) 



Calix superior, campanulate, 5-cleft. Petals 

 and stamina inserted upon the calix. Style bi- 

 fid. Berry many-seeded. 



A genus of shrubs, with alternate lobed leaves, con- 

 sisting of two natural sections. First, Grossularia. 

 (Gooseberry) with simple or divided axillary thorns; pe- 

 duncles few-flowered, fruit larger. Second, Ribesia 

 (Currant), without axillary thorns; flowers in racemes. 

 —Fruit mostly edible and subacid. 



Species. §i. Ribesia. — 1 R.albinervium.2.trijidii7n. 

 S.rigens. 4. prostration. S.resinosiim. 6. viscosissimum. Ph. 

 7. sanguineum. 8. mireiitn. Flowers highly odorous in one 

 of the varieties; berries larger or smaller, red, fulvous, 

 and black, the latter of these colours is that which is natu- 

 ral. 9 recurvutum. 10. pensylvanicmn. Apparently a per- 

 manent variety of R. nigriim. — § ii. Grossularia. 

 (Gooseberry.) 11. rotuniUfolium. 12. hirtellnm. 13- gracile. 

 14. trifiorum. 15. oxycanthoides. 16. lacustris? Axillary 

 spines none? Stem very hispid (as in Bobinia Mspida) 

 leaves deeply cut, 51obed, smooth, segments unequally 

 cleft, and toothed; racemes few-flowered, rather long and 

 pendulous; berries roundish-ovoid, hairy, black. — Pubes- 

 cence ferruginous, berries sour, rather insipid. Hab. In 

 dark and swampy forests amongst rocks, on the islands 

 of lake Huron, near Michikmakinak. 17. Cynosbati. 



Nearly all the species of this interesting genus are al- 

 pine. In the north of Europe there are 6 species (all of 

 them spontaneous in Britain;) 5 in Siberia, 2 of them in 

 Dauria, 1 upon the granitic mountains of Songaria, and 2 

 others also discovered by Pallas upon the loftiest summits 

 of the Mongolian chain; there are 6 other species of this 

 genus indigenous to the Andes of Peru and Chili. 



Scarcely any of the American species of Ribes produce 

 fruit in England. 



