(- 345 .) 
RIBES* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Penta'ndria f Monogy'nia. 
Natural Order. Grossula'ce.-e, Mirb. — Lindl. Syn. p. 106 ; 
Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 54. — Mack. FI. Hibern. p. 108. — 
Loud. Arb. Brit. p. 967. — Grossularie'a:, De Cand. — Loud. 
Hort. Brit. p. 517. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. iii. p. 
177. — Hook. Brit. FI. (4th edit.) p. 408. — RibesiiE, Rich, by 
Macgilliv. p. 516. — Cacti, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 310. — Sm. Gram, of 
Bot. p. 164. — Rosales; subord. Myrtosa:; sect. Grossulina; ; 
type, Grossulace.e ; Burn. Outl. of Bot. v. ii. pp. 614, 617, 740, 
and 744. — Pomace.*:, Linn. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (see fig. 1, a.) superior, of 1 sepal, tumid ; 
limb in 5 deep, regular, spreading, coloured segments. Corolla 
(see fig. 1, b.b.) of 5, Small, obtuse, upright petals, attached to the 
rim of the calyx, and alternating with its segments. Filaments (see 
fig. 1, c. and fig. 3.) 5, short, awl-shaped, upright, from the rim of 
the calyx, and alternate with the petals. Anthers 2-celled, open- 
ing lengthwise on the inside ; except in the varieties of R. rubrum, 
in which they burst laterally and transversely. Germen (see fig. 4.) 
inferior roundish. Style 1, cloven. Stigma blunt. Berry (see fig. 5.) 
crowned with the remains of the flower, 1-celled, with 2 lateral, 
opposite, longitudinal receptacles, the cell filled with pulp. Seeds 
(see fig. 6.) numerous, roundish, slightly compressed, or angular, 
each coated with mucilaginous pulp, and suspended by a long 
filiform funiculus. Albumen horny, conforming to the seed, white. 
Embryo minute, excentrical, with the radical next the hilum. 
The 5-cleft calyx, bearing the petals and the stamens ; the di- 
vided style ; and the 1-celled, many-seeded berry ; will distinguish 
this from other genera, with a superior, polypetalous corolla , in the 
same class and order. 
Six species British. 
RIBES RUBRUM. Red Currant J. Common Currant. Garnet 
Berries, 
Spec. Char. Without prickles. Clusters smooth. Bracteas 
shorter than the Howers. Calyx nearly flat, its segments obtuse. 
Petals inversely heart-shaped. 
Engl. Bot. t. 1289. — Woodv. Med. Bot. v. ii. p. 207. t. 74. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 
290. — Huds. Fl. Angl. (2nd edit.) p. 99. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. i. pt. u.p. 1153. — Sin. 
FI. Brit. v. i. p. 263. ; Engl. Fl. v. i. p. 330. — With. (7th cd.) v. ii. p. 333. — Gray’s 
Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 548. — Lindl. Syn. p. 106. — Hook. Brit. Fl. p. 108. — Macr. Man. 
Brit. Bot. p. 90. — Liglitf. Fl. Scot. v. i. p. 146. — Sibth. Fl. Oxon. p. 84. — Relh. 
Fl. Cant. (3rd ed. ) p. 100. — Purt. Midi. Fl. v. iii. p. 19. — Hook. Fl. Scot. p. 81. — 
Fl. Devon, pp. 42 & 168. — Winch’s Fl. of Nortliumb. & Durh. p. 16. — Don’s Gen. 
Syst. of Gard. & Bot. v. iii. p. 187. — Loud. Arb. et Frutic. Brit. p. 977. — Walker’s 
Fig. 1. A Flower ; a. calyx ; b. b. two of the Petals ; c. a Stamen. — Fig. 2. A 
single Petal. — Fig. 3. A single Stamen. — Fig. 4. Germen, Style, and Stigma. — Fig.5. 
A Berry. — Fig. 6. A Seed. — All, except fig. 5, a little magnified. 
* The name of an acid plant mentioned by the Arabian physicians, which has 
been discovered to be the Rheum Ribes, Don. + See f. 48, n. +. 
t From the similitude of the fruit to that of the Corinth Grape, the small grape of 
Zante, or the common grocers’ Corinths or currants. Maktyn. 
