Saxifrages Rides. 187 



appellation. It rises to a height of about 6 feet. Leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, dentate, acute. Flowers small, white, in dense 

 terminal racemes or spikes. 



TRIBE V.RIBESIACE^E. 



Shrubs with alternate simple deciduous leaves. Stipules 

 adnate to the petiole or absent. Flowers usually racemose. 

 Ovary inferior, 1 -celled ; seeds immersed in pulp. 



9. RlBES. 



Spiny or unarmed. Calyx-limb 5-parted, usually coloured. 

 Petals small, alternating with the stamens on the throat of 

 the calyx, often scale-like and inconspicuous. Upwards of 

 fifty species are described, inhabiting Europe, temperate Asia, 

 and America. Ribas is the Arabic name of a medicinal 

 plant. The Currants and Gooseberries of our gardens are types 

 of this genus. The following are a few of the showiest orna- 

 mental species. 



Unarmed Species. 



1. R. sanguineum (fig. 100). This species, of North 

 American origin, is now very common in our gardens, and de- 



Fig. 100. Eibes sanguiueum. ( J nat. size.) 



serving of a place in every shrubbery. Its deep red flowers 

 are produced in great abundance in early Spring. There are 

 several varieties of it, differing in the colour of the flowers, in- 

 cluding white, pink, and crimson, and there is a variety with 



