GROSSULARIACEAE 95 



shorter than the tube of the flower, and the stamens are not 

 exserted beyond the tube. The berries, which are one-third to 

 Yi inch in diameter, mature from the last of July on into Sep- 

 tember from flowers that appeared in April or May. They are 

 reddish purple, covered with few to many prickles, and vary 

 considerably in size on the same bush. 



DiSTRiBUTiox. — The Pasture Gooseberry grows in rich, 

 moist soil from New Brunswick westward to Manitoba and 

 southward to North Carolina and Missouri. It occurs in suit- 

 able habitats throughout Illinois, but it is not to be searched 

 for in the prairie regions and has not been recorded south of 

 the Ozarks. 



GROSSULARIA MISSOURIENSIS (Nuttall) Coville & 



Britton 



The Missouri Gooseberry 



The Missouri Gooseberry is larger than the common Pas- 

 ture Gooseberry and more nearly erect, reaching commonly a 

 height of 4l/^ feet. Spines, 1 to 3 in number, are generally pres- 

 ent on the nodes, and are somewhat larger than those of the 

 other species. The white or whitish younger branches are 

 sometimes covered by prickles. The blades of the leaves, Vj^ to 

 Xy'l inches long, are nearly orbicular but 3-lobed, the lower 

 lobes being sometimes more or less lobed also. The leaf bases 

 are subcordate, truncate, or even somewhat rounded, and the 

 lobes are generally obtuse, though sometimes acute, at the tip. 

 The leaf margin is closely and irregularly crenate-dentate. and 

 the leaf surface is pubescent when young, but smooth or nearly 

 so at maturity above and always pubescent beneath. The leaves 

 stand on pubescent petioles. 



The flowers, w^hich appear in April or May, are greenish and 

 occur in clusters of 1 to 3 on each peduncle. Both peduncles 

 and pedicels are pubescent and sometimes also glandular, and 

 the bractlets are sheathing and glandular ciliate. In the flowers, 

 both stamens and styles are longer than the calyx lobes and ap- 

 pear exserted. The fruit, which matures from July to Septem- 

 ber, is purplish, smooth on the surface, and nearly Yi inch in 

 diameter. 



Distribution. — The Missouri Gooseberry is a shrub which 

 prefers the wooded banks of streams or the steep slopes of ra- 



