THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RED CURRANT. 261 
(figs. 37, 39). Buds small, dark brown, fairly closely pressed to the 
twig (fig. 38). 
Ribes vulgar e shows but little variation when growing wild, and 
only one variety has been made under this species by Janczewski. 
Lamarck distinguished a sylvestre "lobis foliorum brevisculis, petiolis 
pedunculisque subhirsutis/' and hortense, "lobis foliorum acutioribus, 
petiolis pedunculisque subglabris." For our purpose, however, we 
need but consider the typical vulgare and its large-fruited form, 
called by Janczewski macrocarpum (fig. 39). The latter will be 
discussed under the horticultural section. 
Ribes rubrum Linnaeus (1753), Central and Eastern Europe and 
Asia, Scandinavia, Poland, Prussia, Russia, Siberia, and Manchuria. 
A small bush, leaves rounded, 3 to 5-lobed, generally densely pubescent- 
Flowers bell-shaped, pale green or reddish, racemes held horizontally 
(fig. 36) till fruit develops and weighs them down. Buds small, 
generally covered with white hairs, a little away from wood (fig. 38). 
This species is easily distinguishable when in flower. The campanu- 
late flowers are held out at right angles from the stem in contra- 
distinction to the pendulous flowers of R. vulgare. The absence 
of a disc upon the receptacle is also constant. Of this species 
Janczewski distinguishes five varieties : scandicum Hedlund, pubescens 
Schwarz, galbellum Trautvetter and Meyer, hispidulum Jancz., 
Palczeskii Jancz. Of these pubescens .and scandicum seem to have 
played the most important part in such garden forms as I have been 
able to collect. R. rubrum pubescens is often descrbed in English 
works under the name of Smithianum. 
Ribes petraeum Wulfen, 1781. High mountains of Europe, 
North Africa, and Siberia. A very distinct species, making very stout 
wood, with large buds (see fig. 38). Leaves very dark green, stout 
and firmly held, the middle lobe being always longest. Fruit more 
or less acid, generally tapering a little to stem, giving a slight Ber- 
gamotte shape. Flowers late in the season (fig. 36). Of this species 
Janczewski distinguishes six varieties : bullatum Otto and Dietrich, 
carpathicum Kitaibel, caucasicum Bieberstein, atropurpureum C. A. 
Meyer, Litwinovii Jancz., and altissimum Turczaninow. Of these, 
Ribes petraeum bullatum seems mainly to have been concerned in 
the parentage of garden Currants. 
To simplify matters it may be said roughly that the species and 
varieties which mainly concern us for the present purpose are R. 
vulgare, R. rubrum pubescens, and R. petraeum bullatum, though it is 
possible that further research may show others must be brought in. 
It will now be necessary to refer to the authorities who have studied 
this matter, and to state briefly their opinions as to the part which 
these species have played in the genesis of the garden Red Currant. 
Until recent years all writers [e.g. De Candolle, " Origine des Plant es 
Cultivees ") considered that Ribes rubrum was the sole species con- 
cerned. The work of Hedlund ( 2 ) in the " Botaniska Notiser " in 
1901 is the first which treats the origin of the Red Currant in detail, 
