CURRANT FAMILY. 137 



length, and as wide as long, incisely lobcd and dentate ; petioles generally much shorter 

 than the leaves, often margined. Peduncles solitary or in pairs, often bracteate near the 

 middle. Petals pale greenish-yellow. Berries solitary, pendulous, large, oval, of a 

 greenish amber color when mature. 

 Gardens : cultivated. Native of Europe. Fl. April. Fr. July. 



Obs. This species is much cultivated for its fine fruit ; but (in Penn- 

 sylvania, at least) it often fails to perfect the fruit, from some cause not 

 well understood. Judging from specimens which I have seen, it ap- 

 pears to succeed much better in England, and the fruit attains to a 

 much larger size in that country. 



** Stems not prickly. 



2. R. ru'brum, L. Leaves obtusely 3 - 5-lobed, smooth above, pubes- 

 cent beneath ; racemes pendulous, nearly smooth ; calyx rotate, the seg- 

 ments rounded. 



BED RIBES. Red Currant. 



Fr. Groseillier rouge. Germ. Gemeine Johannisbeere. Span. Ribes 

 roja. 



Stems numerous, slender, sparingly branched, 2-4 feet high. Leaves 1-2 or 3 inches 

 long, and rather wider than long, unequally incised-dentate ; petioles about as long as the 

 loaves. Racemes produced from lateral buds distinct from the leaves ; bracts ovate. Pe- 

 tals greenish yellow, minute. Berries globose, red (rarely whitish or pearl-color) when 

 mature. 



Gardens : cultivated. Native of Europe and the northern regions of America. Fl. 

 April. Fr. June -July. 



Obs. This is so easily cultivated, and is so constantly productive, 

 that it is to be found in almost every garden. The fine acid fruit yields 

 a favorite jelly for the table ; and even the green berries are much used 

 by the pastry cook. 



3. R. NI'GRUM, L. Leaves 3 - 5-lobed, sprinkled with yellow resinous 

 dots beneath ; racemes loose, pilose ; calyx tubular-campanulate. 

 BLACK RIBES. Black Currant. 



Fr. Cassis. Germ. Schwarze Johannisbeere. Span. Ribes negra. 



Stems numerous, slender, 3-5 feet high. Leaves 2-3 inches long, and nearly as wide 

 as long, dentate-serrate, pubescent beneath ; petioles shorter than the leaves. Racemes 

 somewhat pendulous, generally with a distinct single-flowered peduncle at base ; bracts 

 subulate. Petals pale yellowish green (sometimes changed into stamens or staminodia). 

 Berries roundish-ovoid, purplish black when mature. 



Gardens : cultivated. Native of Northern Europe. Fl. April. Fr. June -July. 



Obs. This is sometimes found in gardens ; but the fruit being of a 

 rather insipid or flat sweetish taste, it is not much esteemed. It how- 

 ever affords a jelly which is a popular and useful remedy for sore throat, 

 colds, &c. There are numerous other species of this genus ; but, so far 

 as I know, the foregoing are all that are cultivated (and perhaps all 

 that are worth cultivating) for the sake of the fruit. 



There are two species cultivated as flowering shrubs, one indigenous 

 along the great rivers of the West, and the other a native of California. 



