CHRYSOSPLEXIUM.] SAXIFRAGES. 133 



1. C. alternifo'lium, L. ; stem simple erect, leaves alternate. 



Banks of streams and wet places, from Nairn and Elgin southwards to Kent 

 and Dorset ; ascending to near 3,200 ft. in the Highlands ; N. of Ireland 

 only; fl. April-June. Perennial. Stems 2-4 in., tufted, glabrous above, 

 clothed below with soft white hairs. Radical leaves ^-2 in. diam., long- 

 petioled, reniform, crenate ; cauline few. Flowers & in. diam., 4-merous, 

 yellow, in compact leafy cymes. Calyx-lobes obtuse, spreading. Capsule 

 almost inferior, beaks short. Seeds smooth. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), 

 Siberia to Kamtschatka, W. Asia to the Himalaya, N. America. 



2. C. oppositifo'lium, L. ; stern creeping below, leaves opposite. 

 Marshy and shady places, ascending to 3,300 ft. in the Highlands ; rare in the 



south ; fl. May-July. Size and general habit of C. alternifolium, but stem 

 more leafy, branched, creeping and rooting at the base ; leaves |-1 in. diam., 

 nearly orbicular, suddenly contracted into a short broad petiole ; cauline 

 many. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia. 



3. FARNAS'SIA, L. GBASS OF PARNASSUS. 



Slender, stemless, glabrous, scapigerous, perennial herbs. Leaves radical, 

 quite entire, exstipulate. Flower solitary, large, yellow or white. Calyx- 

 tube short, free or adnate to the base of the ovary ; lobes 5, imbricate, 

 persistent. Petals 5, thickish, persistent. Stamens 5, hypogynous or 

 perigynous, alternating with 5 staminodes. Ovary superior or ^-inferior, 

 1 -celled ; style short, stigmas 3-4 opposite the parietal placentas ; ovules 

 many. Capsule membranous, loculicidally 3-4-valved, many -seeded. 

 Seeds small, testa lax, albumen scanty. DISTRIB. Arctic, Alpine, and 

 temp, regions of the N. hemisphere from S. India northwards ; species 12. 



] . P. palus'tris, L. ; leaves ovate-cordate, stamens hypogynous. 

 Wet moors and bogs, from Hampshire and Somerset northwards, ascending to 

 2,700 ft. in the Highlands ; most common in the north ; fl. Aug. -Sept. 

 Glabrous. Radical leaves 1-2 in., ovate-cordate ; petiole slender 2-3 in. 

 Scape slender, angular, twisted, with one sessile leaf about the middle. 

 Flower ^-1 in. diam. Sepals nearly free, obtuse. Petals coriaceous, with 

 strong veins. Staminodes with a fan-shaped tuft of white gland-tipped 

 filaments. Ovary globose, superior; stigmas 4. DISTRIB. Eirope, N. 

 Africa, Siberia, W. Asia to the N. W. Himalaya, E. and W. N. America. 



4-. RIBES, L. CURRANT, GOOSEBERRY. 



Shrubs, often glandular and spinous, buds scaly. Leaves alternate, 

 entire or lobed, plaited or convolute in bud ; stipules 0, or adnate to the 

 petiole. Flowers solitary or racemose, white red yellow or green, often 

 polygamous ; pedicels bracteate (often minutely), 2-3-bracteolate. Calyx- 

 limb tubular or campanulate, 4-5-fid, imbricate or subvalvate in bud. 

 Petals small and stamens 4-5, inserted in the throat of the calyx. 

 Ovary inferior, 1 -celled ; styles 2 ; ovules few or many, on 2 slender 

 parietal placentas. Berry oblong or globose, 1 -celled, few or many- 

 sccilcd. Seeds horizontal, testa with a gelatinous coat, raphe free, 

 albumen adhering to the testa ; embryo minute. DISTRIB. N. Temp. 

 regions and Andes of S. America ; species 56. ETYM. An Arabic word for 

 , wrongly applied to this genus. 



