chap.lv. grossulace^. rides. 977 



§ iii. Rib^sia Dec. Currants. 



Synonymes. Rlbes sp. Lin. and others ; Calobotrya, Core6sma, and Ribis Spach ; Groscilles en 

 Grappes, or Grosseiller commun, Fr. ; Johannisbeere, Ger. ; Bessenboom, Dutch. 



Sect. Char. Shrubs unarmed. Racemes, for the most part, manj-flowered. 

 Leaves plicate. Calyx campanulate or cylindrical. (Doll's Mill., iii. p. 185.) 

 Shrubs, the branches of which are without prickles, and the leaves and 

 fruit of which resemble those of the currant more than those of the goose- 

 berry. 



A. Flowers greenish, or greenish yellow, or reddish ; a7id Fruit, in a mid 

 State, led. 



* 17. B. RU^BRUM L. The common red Currant. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 290. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. 481. ; Don's Mill., a p. 187. ; Lodd. Cat. cd. 1836. 

 Synonymcs. R. vulg^re N. Du Ham, ; Grosseiller commun, Fr. ; gemeine Johannisbeere, Ger. ; 



Roode Aallessen Boom, Dutch. 

 Engravings. Woodv. Med. Bot.,t. 74.; Fl. Dan., 967. ; Blackw. Herb., t. 285. ; Smith Engl Bot., 



t. 1289. ; Krauss, t. 48. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves cordate, bluntly .3 — 5-lobed, pubescent beneath, 

 when young, usually rather tomentose, glabrous above. Racemes drooping. 

 Bracteas ovate, shorter than the pedicels. Calyx flatly campanulate, 

 spreading. Sepals obtuse. Petals obcordate. Fruit quite glabrous. Flowers 

 yellowish. (Don^s Mill., iii. p. 187.) Native of Europe and Siberia, in 

 woods ; and throughout Canada to the mouth of the Mackenzie ; found in 

 mountainous woods, especially in the north of England and in Scotland, 

 about the banks of rivers ; undoubtedly wild on the banks of the Tees ; in 

 the Isle of Isla, and in Culross woods, Scotland. A shrub, growing 

 from 4 ft. to 6 ft. high, and flowering in April and May. 



Varieties. De CandoUe gives the following forms of this species : — 



St R. r. I syhestre Dec. Fl. Fr., iv. p. 406. — Leaves and berries small. 



Lobes of leaves short. 

 * R. r. 2 hortense Dec, 1. c. ; R. rubrum Lois. Nouv. Diet., iii. — Leaves 



large, sometimes variegated. Berries sweeter and larger than in 



var. 1. Cultivated in gardens. 

 «4 R. r. 3 ca;-Hc«w Berl. MSS. ex Dec. Prod., iii. p. 481.; R. rubrum 



domesticum 2 baccis carneis IVallr. Sched., p. ]06. — Leaves rather 



tomentose beneath. Sepals red. Cells of anthers distant. Berries 



pale red. 

 s R. r. 4 variegdtum Dec. Prod., iii. p. 481., Wallr., 1. c, has the berries 



beautifully variegated ; or, rather, distinctly striped with white and 



red. In cultivation in Austria, and well deserving of a place in 



every collection, from the beauty and singularity of its fruit. 

 as R. ;•. o album Desf Cat. Bot., p. 164., Ait. Hort, Kew., ii. p. 40., "Wallr. 



Sched., p. 106., Berl., 1. c, t. 2. f 15. — Berries white. 

 3is R. r. Gfdliis luteo variegdtis Du Ham. has the leaves variegated with 



yellow, and the fruit red. 

 3^ R. ;•. 7 fdliis dlbo variegdtis Du Ham. has the leaves variegated with 



white, and the fruit white. 



Description. The common red currant, in a wild state, like all plants the 

 seeds of which are of easy dissemination by birds, varies exceedingly in habit 

 and magnitude, according to the soil, elevation, and latitude in which it 

 happens to spring up. On mountains, among rocks, it is scarcely a foot high, 

 with finely cut leaves; and is known by botanists under the name of R. alpinum 

 piimilum. (Seejig. 726. p. 979.) In more favourable situations, it forms a ligneous 

 fastigiate bush 5 ft. or 6 ft. high, under the form of R. spicatum (see fig.728. in 

 p. 980.) ; and, cultivated in gardens, it becomes a spreading bush, with vigorous 

 shoots, and leaves twice the size of those it produces in a wild state. The 

 common red currant is commonly treated by botanists as a distinct species; 

 but we have no doubt whatever that R. petrae\im, R. spicatum, R. alpinum 



3 T 2 



