GOOSEBERRY AND CURRANT TRIBE. 239 



are cylindrical and pointed. El. July, August. Per- 

 ennial. 



Other British species, belonging to this group, are 

 S. sexangulare (Tasteless Yellow Stonecrop), distin- 

 guished from 8. acre by its leaves, which are 6 in a 

 whorl, growing in Greenwich Park, the Isle of Sheppey, 

 and a few other places ; 8. rupestre (St. Vincent's Rock 

 Stonecrop), a species allied to 8. reflexum, with slightly 

 flattened leaves, which grow 5 in a whorl, found on St. 

 Vincent's Rocks, and other limestone cliffs ; rare : and 

 8. Forsterianum (Welsh Stonecrop), another species 

 allied to 8. reflexum, with leaves flattened at the base, 

 and compact cymes of flowers, which grows on rocks in 

 Wales and Shropshire. 



ORD. XXXVL GROSSULARIACE^E. THE GOOSE- 

 BERRY AND CURRANT TRIBE. 



Calyx growing from the summit of the ovary, 4 5 

 cleft ; petals 4 5, small, inserted at the mouth of the 

 calyx-tube, and alternating with the stamens ovary 

 1 -celled, with the ovules (young seeds) arranged in two 

 opposite rows ; style 2 4 cleft ; berry crowned with the 

 withered flower, pulpy, containing many stalked seeds. 

 Shrubs with or without thorns, and having alternate 

 lobed leaves, which are plaited when in bud. The 

 flowers grow in clusters in the axils of the leaves, each 

 flower with a bract at its base, and are succeeded by 

 pulpy berries, which in several species are highly prized 

 for their agreeable flavour. In other species the taste 

 is mawkish, or extremely acid. The plants of this 

 tribe grow only in the temperate parts of the world, 

 especially in North America, and on the mountains of 

 Northern India. In Africa they are unknown. 



1. RIBES (Currant and Gooseberry). Calyx 5-cleft; 

 petals 5, inserted at the mouth of the calyx-tube ; 

 stamens 5 ; berry many-seeded, crowned by the withered 

 flower. (Name anciently given to a species of Rhubarb.) 



