GROSSULARIA, CURRANT BUSH. 265 



that functions as the bottom of the calyx and becomes a tender, juicy fruit. 



The leaves are alternate, attached to the branch by long, stout stalks that hold 

 them quite upright. They're simple and lobed like those of the guelder rose. [Translator's 

 note: Viburnum opulus. The French name, obier, is derived from the Latin opulus, a kind 

 of maple that has lobed leaves like those described here]. There are three large or 

 principal lobes bordered by teeth formed of two segments of a circle & that terminate in a 

 small, sharp point. The teeth are unequal in size. Their arrangement is such that each lobe 

 appears to be made up of several smaller ones. The large leaves, from where they open 

 out to the tip of the central, or largest, lobe are about three inches long, & to the tips of 

 the large lateral lobes, two inches three lignes. A large prominent vein extends from the 

 stalk to the tip of each lobe and branches out into several smaller veins. The latter 

 subdivide & extend up to the tips of portions of the leaf margins that appear to be small 

 lobes. The inside of the leaf is indented with quite deep grooves corresponding to the 

 veins on the outside. The result of the protruding veins on one side and indented grooves 

 on the other is that the leafs surface is not very smooth. It's a beautiful green; parts of the 

 veins are usually red, & in autumn they often turn entirely this color. 



The fruit grows in clusters. The number of currants in them depends on the extent 

 to which the flowers have aborted or have ceased to develop. The most plentiful rarely 

 have more than fifteen or sixteen currants. They're attached to the cluster's common stem 

 by very slender stalks about one or two lignes long. They're smaller near the tip of the 

 cluster. They're round and end in an umbilicus surrounded by the dried up sections of the 

 calyx that persist until the fruit is ripe. The skin is smooth, delicate, and transparent if its 

 color is red or white. The flesh is tender. The juice of edible currants is tart; 



