UMBELLIFER^: 153 



Ribes rubrum L. Red Currant. 



A branching shrub 3-5 feet high, without prickles. Leaves 

 stalked, larger than in the Gooseberry, more or less glabrous above, 

 downy beneath. Flowers small, greenish white, in axillary, pendu- 

 lous racemes at the base of the year's shoots. Pedicels short. 

 Berries red when ripe, or rarely yellowish. 



Sub-spontaneous in rocky woods here and there in Switzerland. 

 April, May. 



Distribution. Central and Northern Europe, N. and W. Asia, 

 doubtfully indigenous in Britain. N. America. 



Ribes petrceum. Wulfen. 



About the height of the last and of R. alpinum. Leaves 3-5 

 lobed, lobes triangular, acute, doubly serrated, heart-shaped at the 

 base, pubescent beneath. Inflorescence erect, pendulous after 

 fertilisation. Sepals roundly oboval, reddish. Berries red, globular, 

 acid. 



Shady, rocky places in mountain and sub-alpine woods and 

 glens. May, June. 



Distribution. Alps, Jura, Vosges, Corbieres, Pyrenees, Central 

 Europe, Caucasus, Armenia, Siberia, Algeria. 



Ribes alpinum L. 



Flowers small, yellowish green, always dioecious or unisexual; 

 the males in little erect racemes about an inch long, with slender 

 pedicels, the females, on separate shrubs, fewer together, in short 

 racemes, often almost sessile. Berries small, red, tasteless. 



Rocky mountain woods. May, June. 



Distribution. Central and Northern Europe, Caucasus, Siberia. 

 British. N. America. 



The Black Currant (Ribes nigrum L.), known by its scent and 

 black berries, is rarely found wild in Switzerland. 



UMBELLIFER^ 



Herbs with alternate leaves, often much cut and divided. Flowers 

 small, regular, in terminal or lateral umbels (simple or compound). 

 At the base of the umbel are often a few bracts constituting the 

 involucre. Calyx-lobes 5, small or usually entirely wanting. 

 Petals 5. Stamens 5. Ovary 2-celled, 2-seeded. Styles 2. Fruit 

 separating when ripe into 2 one-seeded, indehiscent carpels. Leaf- 

 stalk usually sheathing. 



A large family, more or less represented nearly all over the globe, 

 particularly numerous in Mediterranean districts and Western 

 Asia. 



