THE SMALL FRUITS OF NEW YORK 267 



smell. Leaves large, up to 10 cm long and 12 cm wide, 3- to 5-lobed, with a deep cordate 

 base, the lobes ovate, pointed, the lateral ones spreading, the middle one the largest, the 

 margins sharply doubly serrate, the teeth mucronate, often broader than long, bright 

 green and glabrous above, paler beneath, glabrous or pubescent along the veins; with 

 numerous amber-colored, resinous dots or sessile glands scattered chiefly on the lower sur- 

 face, a very few occasionally on the upper side of the leaves. Petiole as long or shorter 

 than the blade, pubescent, with several pltimose fringes at the base. Racemes spreading 

 or pendulous, 3-5 cm long, with 5-10 flowers, rhachis, bracts, and pedicels pubescent; 

 bracts short, ovoid; lower pedicels 10 mm long, often with minute bracteoles. Flowers 

 campanulate-iirceolate, tomentose ; receptacle wider than long ; sepals reflexed at the middle, 

 ligulate, twice as long as broad, obtuse, tomentose on both sides, purplish; petals erect, 

 ovate, whitish or reddish, shorter than the sepals. Stamens inserted at the same level, 

 anthers whitish, oblong, almost as high as the petals. Ovary semi-inferior, obovate- 

 obconical, glabrous or slightly pubescent with sessile yellow glands; style erect, shortly 

 cleft, as long as the anthers. Fruits subglobose, large, black, 8-10 mm across, glandular, 

 with a peculiar smeU and taste. 



Europe, as far north as Scandinavia, northern and central Asia; sub- 

 spontaneous in North America. Five botanical varieties are recognized. 



(i) var. heterophyllum Pepin. Rehder in Bailey Stand. Cyc. Hort. 5:2959. 1916. 

 var. lacintatum Lav, and var. crispum Hort. Rehder 1. c. 

 var. aconitifolium. Kirchner Arbor. Muse. 412. 1864. 



Leaves very deeply 3- to 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate, terminal lobe ovate-lanceolate; 

 margins deeply and irregularly toothed. 



(2) var. apiifolium. Kirchner Arbor. Muse. 1864. 

 var. disseduni. Nicholson in Rehder 1. c. 



Leaves 3-parted to the base, each part again bipinnately cut with narrow segments. 



(3) var. xanthocarpiun Spaeth in Rehder 1. c. 

 var. Jructii luteo Hort. 



Fruits yellow. 



Besides these there occur in gardens forms with variegated leaves 

 (var. variegatiim, marmoratum, reticulalum). 



(4) var. paucifiorum Turczaninow. Janczewski Monogr. 348. 1907. 

 R. paucifiorum Turcz. ex Ledebour F/. Ross. 2:200. 1844. 



Less robust shrub; leaves shining, buds reddish. Flowers longer, more campanulate; 

 style cleft almost to the middle. 

 Central Asia, Siberia. 

 (s) var. chlorocarpum. Spaeth in Rehder 1. c. 



var. fructu viridi Hort. 

 According to Janczewski Monogr. 748, this is a form of var. pauci- 

 fiorum, the Asiatic variety. 



The cultivated varieties of black currants are mostly descendants of 

 R. nigrum. There are a large nimiber of them, but they are badly mixed 



