GROSSULARIACE.E SAXIFRAGACE.E. 423 



884. Order 93. Crrosaniarlacrfe, the Gooseberry and Currant 

 Family. (Polypet. Epigyn.) Calyx 4-5-cleft, regular, coloured. Petals 

 minute, perigynous, equal in number to the segments of the calyx, 

 and alternate with them. Stamens 4-5, alternate with the petals, and 

 inserted into the throat of the calyx; filaments short; anthers dithecal. 

 Ovary unilocular, adherent to the tube of the calyx; ovules co , anatro- 

 pal, attached to two opposite parietal placentas; style single, 2-4-cleft. 

 Fruit a 1 -celled berry, crowned with the remains of the flower. Seeds 

 oo , immersed in pulp, and attached to the placentas by long thread- 

 like funiculi; spermoderm gelatinous externally; albumen horny; 

 embryo straight, minute; radicle pointing to the hilum. Shrubs, 

 with alternate lobed leaves, having a plicate vernation. They are 

 natives of temperate regions, and are found in Europe, Asia, and 

 America. Many yield edible fruits, which sometimes contain malic 

 acid. The various kinds of Gooseberry (Ribes Grossularia), and Cur- 

 rant (Ribes rubrum and nigrwri) belong to this order. It contains 2 or 

 3 genera, and nearly 100 species. Example Kibes. 



885. Order 94. $axifragaccte, the Saxifrage Family. (Polypet. 

 Perigyn.) Calyx superior, or more or less inferior (fig. 397 c c); sepals 

 usually 5, more or less cohering at the base. Petals usually 5, peri- 

 gynous, alternate with the lobes of the calyx (fig. 397 p p), rarely 0. 

 Stamens perigynous (fig. 397 e], 5-10 or oo , in 1 or more rows; an- 

 thers bilocular, with longitudinal or porous dehiscence. Disk often 

 present, either annular or scaly. Ovary more or less completely united 

 to the tube of the calyx, consisting usually of two carpels, cohering by 

 their face (figs. 397, 398 o), but distinct and diverging at the apex; 

 styles as many as the carpels, distinct (fig. 398 t) or combined; stigmas 

 capitate (fig. 398 s) or clavate. Placentas (fig. 398 p) marginal (basal 

 or apicilar), rarely central. Fruit generally a 1-2-celled capsule, the 

 cells dehiscing at the ventral suture, and often divaricating when ripe. 

 Seeds usually co , rarely definite; spermoderm often reticulated; em- 

 bryo small, in the axis of fleshy albumen; radicle pointing to the 

 hilum. Shrubs or trees, or herbs, with alternate or opposite, usually 

 exstipulate leaves. They are generally natives of temperate climates, 

 and some of them characterize alpine districts. The order has been 

 divided into the following suborders: 1. Escalloniese, petals and 

 stamens 5; ovary inferior; style simple; albumen oily; evergreen 

 shrubs, with alternate, simple, exstipulate leaves, found in the temperate 

 regions of South America, often at a great elevation. 2. Cunoniese, 

 petals 4-5 or 0; stamens 8-10 or co ; ovary half inferior; styles 2, 

 distinct or combined; trees or shrubs, with opposite leaves, having 

 interpetiolary stipules; found in South America, the East Indies, 

 south of Africa, and Australasia. 3. Hydrangea, petals 4-6 ; stamens 

 8-12 or oo ; anthers sometimes biporose; ovary more or less inferior; 

 styles 2-5, usually distinct; shrubs with opposite, sometimes whorled, 



