194 SysTKMATIC J'OMOLOdY 



acute. Flowers borne in loose racemes; calyx tube broadly canipanulate; 

 petals greenish-purple or dull whitish, half as lonp as sepals; calyx and 

 ovary pubescent and glandular. Fruits round or subglobosc, 1/3 inch in 

 diameter, black, with a strong odor and taste. 



285. Habitat and history of the black currant. — This black 

 currant is a native of Europe and nortli and central Asia. The 

 American hhick, R. anicricanum, is similar to R. nigrum in 

 plant and fruit, but differs much in the flower; it is found from 

 Nova Scotia to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains, 

 furnishing wild fruit to those who care to pick it. Were it not 

 for the cultivated black currant from Europe, this native species 

 might well be domesticated. The European black currant is a 

 fruit of modern times, its culture dating back not more than 

 two centuries. The more northern the latitude, the higher the 

 esteem in which it is held. 



Gooseberries 



American gooseberries belong for the most part to one species, 

 R. hirtellum, but probably there are hybrids with two or three 

 other species, as will be noted, one or two of which may have 

 pure-bred representatives under cultivation. European goose- 

 berries all belong to one .species, R. Grossularia. 



286. Ribes hirtellum described. — Under the name American 

 gooseberry this is the species commonly cultivated in the north- 

 ern fruit regions of this continent. 



6. Eihes hirtellum, Michx. (Plate XXIII) A shrub 3-5 feet high; 

 branches slender, drooping, armed with small spines at the base of shoots 

 or with few or many Avhitish prickles. Leaves broader than long, rather 

 thin, 1-2 inches broad, dentate or crenate-dentate, cuneate at the base, in- 

 cisely 3-5 lobed, pubescent underneath, Avith some glandular hairs on the 

 petiole. Flow;ers 1-3, borne on very short peduncles and pedicels; ovary 

 glabrous; calyx-tube campanulate; sepals greenish or purplish, glabrous; 

 petals whitish; style pubescent. Fruit 14 inch in diameter, round, ovate, 

 or oblong; skin smooth; greenish or purple. 



287. Habitat and history of R. hirtellum. — This species is wild 

 from Newfoundland to Maryland and AVest Virginia, and west- 

 ward nearly to the Rocky Mountains. There are several Ameri- 

 can garden sorts w^hich are pure-bred varieties of this species, of 

 which Pale Red is best known. Downing and Houghton, leading 

 gooseberries, are hybrids between this and the European species. 



