RIBES 407 



lobes doubly toothed ; bright green and smooth on 'both sides, except for 

 occasional hairs on the veins beneath ; stalk bristly at the base. Flowers 

 greenish, produced eight to twelve together on erect, slender racemes, 2 to 

 3 ins. long, stalks and ovary with gland-tipped hairs ; sepals smooth outside. 

 Fruit red, glandular, % in. diameter. 



Native of N. America, where it is widely spread over the cool moist 

 regions on both east and west sides ; introduced in 1812. It is distinct in 

 its prostrate habit, nearly or quite smooth, evil-smelling leaves, and red, 

 glanded fruits. Nearly allied to this is 



R. LAXIFLORUM, Pursh (R. affine, Douglas, not KuntJi), also a prostrate 

 shrub, but with leaves more downy beneath when young, the fan-shaped 

 petals as broad as they are long (in prostratum they are much longer than 

 broad), the sepals downy but not glandular outside, and the fruits black or 

 dark purple, with glandular down and a glaucous bloom. Native of Western 

 N. America, whence it was introduced by Douglas in 1818, and Japan. 



R. COLORADENSE, Coville, is a third species belonging to the same group, 

 being of prostrate habit ; the young shoots are finely downy, the sepals with 

 glandular hairs outside, the purplish petals twice as broad as long, the fruit 

 black, not glaucous with bloom. Native of Colorado and New Mexico ; intro- 

 duced in 1905. 



None of these three have much garden value, although their prostrate 

 habit gives them interest. 



R. SANGUINEUM, Pursh. FLOWERING CURRANT. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 3335.) 



A deciduous, unarmed bush, 7 or 8 ft. high, usually considerably more in 

 diameter ; young shoots covered with a close, fine down. Leaves three- or 

 five-lobed, palmately veined, the lobes broad and rounded, unequally toothed, 

 the base conspicuously heart-shaped ; 2 to 4 ins. wide, less in length ; smooth 

 or nearly so above, soft with pale down beneath ; stalk f to 2 ins. long, 

 covered with minute down like the young shoots, but with a few bristles near 

 the base. Flowers deep rosy red,. produced during April in drooping, finally 

 ascending, racemes 2 to 4 ins. long, i to i-| ins. wide ; each flower in. long 

 and nearly as wide ; the slender flower-stalk, ovary, and tubular calyx dotted 

 with glandular down. Currants globose, J in. diameter, glandular, black 

 covered with blue bloom. 



Native of Western N. America ; discovered by A. Menzies in 1793, an ^ 

 introduced by Douglas for the Horticultural Society in 1826. This currant is 

 the finest of Ribes and in the very front rank of all spring-flowering shrubs, 

 being one of those that never fails to blossom well. Whilst all its forms are 

 beautiful, some are preferable ; the following is a selection: 



Var. ALBIDUM, Paxton. Flowers white, with only a slight tinge of colour. 

 In my experience this variety is not so robust as the red ones. 



Var. ATRORUBENS. Flowers of a very deep red but smaller, and in smaller 

 racemes than the type. 



Var. BROCKLEBANKII. Leaves a good yellow, the colour lasting well. 



Var. FLORE PLENO. Flowers double, but inferior in beauty. 



Var. SPLENDENS. Sent out by Mr Smith of Newry about the end of last 

 century, this is, I consider, the finest form of flowering currant known. It 

 approaches the blootl-red tint indicated by the specific name nearer than any 

 other except atrorubens, and unlike that form, unites a goodly size of flower 

 and raceme with its richness of colour. 



All the forms of R. sanguineum are easily propagated by cuttings of naked 

 wood like the gooseberry. 



