GROSSHLACEJE. 143 



* Stcjiis unarmed. Currants. 



1. R. flo'ridum. 



Leaves punctate on both sides with resinous dots; racemes pendant, pubes- 

 cent; calyx cylindric; bracts longer than the pedicels. A handsome shiub, 

 in woods and hedges, common. Hight 3—4 feet. Leaves about 5-lobed, 

 toothed, the dots whitish. Calyx somewhat bell-shaped. Petals greenish 

 yellow, rather large. Fruit black, insipid. May. Wild Black Currant. 



2. R. RUB RUM. 



Racemes glabrous, nodding ; flowers flattish ; petals obcordate; leaves ob- 

 tusely 5-lobed. The common red currant is said to grow wild in Canada and 

 thence to Mackenzie River. Its culture and uses are known to every body. 

 The variety album, the white currant, has yellow berries, larger and less tart 

 tJian the rubrum. Propagated from cuttings of last year's growth. May. 



3. R. PROSTRA'TUM. VHcr. R- rigens. Mx. 



Leaves smooth, cordate, lobed and doubly serrate, reticulate-rugose, pube - 

 scent beneath ; racemes erect, lax, many-flowered ; berries glandular hispid 

 A small shrub, with ill-flavored berries, on mountains and rocky hills. Stem 

 with straight branches. Leaves .5 — 7-lobed, on long petioles. Racemes about 

 8-flowered, becoming erect in fruit. Berry red, rather large. Flowers marked 

 with purple. May. Mountain Currant. 



4. R. NIGRUM. 



Leaves punctate beneath ; racemes lax ; flmcets campanulate ; bracts shorter 

 than pedicels ; berries black. Exotic. The culture of the black currant is sim- 

 ilar to the red. This species much resembles R. floridum, and may be but a 

 cultivated variety. May. Black Currant. 



5. R. au'reum. 



Very smooth ; leaves 3-lobed, lobes spreading, with a few teeth ; bracts lin- 

 ear, as long as the flower-stalks ; berries smooih. Native of Missouri. Avery 

 beautiful iTpecies, about 8 feet high, cultivated in gardens as an ornamental 

 shrub. Petiole ciliate at base, longer than the leaves. Racemes lax, with 

 numerous, yellow, very fragrant flowers. Calyx tubular longer than the pe- 

 dicels, divisions oblong, obtuse. Petals linear, half as long as the divisions of 

 the calyx. April. INfay. Missouri or Golden Currant. 



* * Stems prickly. Gooseberries. 



6. R. Cyno'sbati. 



Spines sub-axillary, about in pairs; leaves lobed, cut and toothed, downy; 

 rttccjwcs nodding, few-flowered; ca/j/z erect, campanulate; berries prickly . A 

 handsome shru"b, about 4 feet high, found in hedges and thickets. Thorns 

 from 1 to 3, near the axils of the leaves. Leaves in 3—5 gash-toothed lobes. 

 Flowers green. Berry covered with long prickles, and of a dull brown col- 

 or. June. 



7. R. ROTUNDIFo'LIUM. Mx. R. triflorum. L. 



Spines sub-axillary, short ; leaves smooth, 3 — 5-lobcd, incisely dentate ; pe- 

 duucles 1 — 3-flovvered ; pedicels elongated; petals spathulate, unguiculate ; 

 stamens exseried, smooth, much longer than the petals; style hairy, exserted, 

 deeply 2 — 3-cleft; berries smooth. A bushy shrub, 3 — 4 feet high, with fruit 

 similar to the common gooseberry. Grows in woods. Petioles and the un- 

 der side of the leaves pubescent. Petals white. Berry red. May. 



Wild Gooseberry. 



