aOOSEBERRY AND CURRANT TRIBE 31 



cultivated in gardens in the more southern countries. It flowers in April 

 and May. 



3. Tasteless Mountain Currant {E. alplnum). — Stamens and pistils 

 on separate plants, branches angled, leaves shining beneath ; clusters of 

 flowers and fruit erect ; bracts longer than the flowers. Plant perennial. 

 This Currant grows in the woods and hedges of the north of England, but is 

 scarcely wild in Scotland. Both leaves and flowers are very small. The 

 currants are red. It is in flower in April and May. 



4. Black Currant [R. nigrum). — Clusters loose, drooping, with a single- 

 stalked flower at the base of each ; calyx downy ; leaves sharply 3 — 5-lobed, 

 dotted with glands beneath. Plant perennial. This species is found in 

 Avoods and by river-sides, in various places ; and though probal^ly not a 

 native of Britain, the time of its introduction is unknown. Hooker says it 

 is "apparently wild in the Lake district and Yorkshire." It is quite a dis- 

 tinct species, and has no tendency to produce varieties. In Kent, its fruit is 

 commonly called gazel, and we find it so termed by writers of the sixteenth 

 century; but Coles, writing in 1657, says the white currant was in Kent 

 called gozill. It is a very common plant in the woods of Russia and Siberia, 

 where wine is made of the berries only, or is fermented with honey, and 

 sometimes with some spirituous liquor. In England, the flavour of the black 

 currant is not liked so well as that of the red ; but the jelly and lozenges 

 made of the fruit are valuable medicines in aff"ections of the throat. The 

 leaves have a strong odour, unpleasant to most persons, yet well-liked by the 

 natives of Siberia, who mingle them with a sj)irit, to which they are con- 

 sidered to impart a delicious flavour. They are often mixed with green tea 

 in country places, and they are said to be one of the substances used by those 

 who adulterate that article, and perhaps are among the most innocent ingre- 

 dients employed for the purpose. The fruits are considered tonic and 

 stimulating, and the wood and leaves partake of these properties. The 

 berry is the largest of our currants, and is black and glossy. Some very 

 pretty currant shrubs are cultivated in gardens. The common Red-flowered 

 Currant {R. sanguinea), and the sweet-scented Yellow Currant {R. aurea), are 

 among the gayest of our garden flowers in March and April. 



Order XXXVII. SAXIFRAGES— SAXIFRAGE TRIBE. 



Calyx of 4 — 5 sepals united at the base ; petals equalling the sepals in 

 number, inserted between the sepals, rarely wanting; stamens 5 — 10; ovary 

 of 2 united carpels ; styles 2, usually spreading in opposite directions ; cap- 

 sule 2-celled, opening on the inner side ; seeds numerous. This order con- 

 sists chiefly of herbaceous plants, with alternate, rarely opposite, leaves. The 

 species contain no very important properties, though some British plants are 

 slightly astringent, and some foreign species are more so. The Heiicheria 

 americana, a plant of this order, is commonly called Alum-root, from its 

 astringency ; and several species of JVcinmannia are employed in the manu- 

 facture of leather, as well as in the adulteration of Peruvian bark. The 

 genus SaxiJ'raga is a very extensive one. It yields some mucilage, but its 



