374 GROSSULARIE^. [part ii. 



species are covered with spines, and thus the 

 plant is easily distinguished from the common 

 gooseberry, the stem of which has no spines, 

 except three just below each bud. 



The Currants are distinguished by the stems 

 being entirely without spines, and the flowers 

 being produced in racemes. The leaves are cor- 

 date, and bluntly three or five lobed, a little 

 downy beneath, but smooth above. The flowers 

 of the Red Currant (Ribes rubrum) are numer- 

 ous, and they are produced in drooping racemes, 

 with a little bracteole at the base of each foot- 

 stalk (see a in Jig- 137). The calyx is flattish, 

 with the segments (^), which are of a pale 

 greenish colour, spreading widely, and not re- 

 curved. The anthers (c) are loosely attached 

 to the filaments, and they burst sideways and 



Fig. 137 The Red Currant. 



across. The style {d) is short, and divided into 

 two spreading stigmas at the apex. The fruit 

 is smooth and transparent, with many seeds, 

 and it retains the remains of the calyx {e) when 

 ripe. The white, and the striped or flesh- 



