GROSSULACE^E. (CURRANT FAMILY.) 137 



* Peduncles 1 -3-Jlowered: leaves roundish-heart-sfiapcd, 3 -5-lobed. 



1. B. Cynoslmti, L. (WILD GOOSEBERRY.) Loaves pubescent; pe- 

 duncles slender, 2 - 3-flowered ; stamens and undivided style not longer than the broad 

 calyx. Kocky woods ; common, especially northward. May. Spines strong. 

 Berry large, armed with long prickles like a burr, or rarely smooth. 



2. B. liirtt'Iliini, Michx. (SMOOTH WILD GOOSEBERRY.) Leaves 

 somewhat pubescent beneath ; peduncles very short, 1 - 2-flowered, deflexed ; sta- 

 mens and 2-cle/l style scarcely longer than the bell-shaped (purplish) calyx ; fruit 

 smooth, small, purple, sweet. Moist grounds, N. England to Wisconsin, com- 

 mon. May. Stems either smooth ^or prickly, and with very short thorns, or 

 none. This yields the commonest smooth gooseberry of New England, &c., 

 and usually passes for R. triflorum, Willd., which name belongs to the next. 



3. B. rot ti n<B ifol mm, Michx. . (SMOOTH WILD GOOSEBERRY.) 

 Leaves nearly smooth ; peduncles slender, 1 - 3-flowered ; stamens and 2-parted 

 style slender, longer than the narrow cylindrical calyx ; fruit smooth, pleasant. 

 Rocks, W. Massachusetts to Wisconsin, and southward along the mountains to 

 Virginia, &c. June. Leaves rounded, with very short and blunt lobes. 



* * Racemes 5 - 9-Jlowered, loose, slender, nodding. 



4. B. Icicustrc, Poir. (SWAMP GOOSEBERRY.) Young stems clothed 

 with bristly prickles, and with weak thorns ; leaves heart-shaped, 3 - 5-parted, 

 with the lobes deeply cut ; calyx broad and flat ; stamens and style not longer 

 than the petals ; fruit bristly (small, unpleasant). Cold woods and swamps, 

 N. England to Wisconsin and northward. June. 



2. RIBESIA, Berl. (CURRANT.) Stems neither prickly nor thorny: flowers 

 (greenish) in racemes: berries never prickly. 



5. B. prostratum, L'Her. (FETID CURRANT.) Stems reclined; 

 leaves deeply heart-shaped, 5 - 7-lobed, smooth ; the lobes ovate, acute, doubly 

 serrate ; racemes erect, slender ; calyx flattish ; pedicels and the (pale-red) fruit 

 glandular-bristly. Cold damp woods and rocks, from N. England and Penn. 

 northward. May. The bruised plant and berries exhale an unpleasant odor. 



6. B. floridum, L. (WiLD BLACK CURRANT.) Leaves sprinkled vnih 

 resinous dots, slightly heart-shaped, sharply 3 5-lobed, doubly serrate ; racemes 

 drooping, downy ; bracts longer than the pedicels ; calyx tubular-bell-shaped, 

 smooth ; fruit round-ovoid, black, smooth. Woods ; common. May. Much 

 like the Black Currant of the gardens, which the berries resemble in smell and 

 flavor. Flowers large. 



7. B. rub rum, L. (RED CURRANT.) Stems straggling or reclined; 

 leaves somewhat heart-shaped, obtusely 3 - 5-lobed, serrate, downy beneath when 

 young ; racemes from lateral buds distinct from the leaf-buds, drooping ; calyx flat 

 (green or purplish) ; fruit globose, smooth, red. Cold damp woods and bogs 

 New Hampshire to Wisconsin and northward. Same as the Red Currant of the 

 gardens. (Eu.) 



R. AUREUM, Pursh, the BUFFALO or MISSOURI CURRANT, remarkable for 

 the spicy fragrance of its early yellow blossoms, is cultivated for ornament. Its 

 leaves are convolute (instead of plaited) in the bud. 

 12* 



