26 
and Bruniacese near Hamamelacese. The reader is referred to the observations 
under each order for such arguments as I have to advance for associating them, 
and stationing them here. It is to be expected that much more light wiU be 
thrown upon this subject by the future discovery of other genera. 
Order. XIII. GROSSULACE^. The Currant Tribe. 
Grossularie^, DC. FI. Fr. 4. 406. (1804) ; Kunth Nov. G. et Sp. 6. 58. (1823) ; 
DC. Prodr. 3. 477. (1828) ; Spach in Ann. sc. ser. 2. tom. 4. p. 16. (1835). — 
Ribesi^, Ach. Rich. Bot. Med. 2. 487. (1823). — Grossulace/E, Mirb. Elem. 2. 897. 
(1815) ; Lindl. Synops. 106. (1829). 
Essential Character. — Calyx superior, 4- or 5-parted, regular, coloured. Petals 5, 
minute, inserted in the throat of the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted alternately with the petals, 
very short. Ovary 1 -celled, with 2 opposite parietal placentae; ovules numerous; style 
2-3-4- cleft. Rerry crowned with the remains of the flower, 1-celled; the cell filled with 
pulp. Seeds numerous, suspended among the pulp by long filiform cords ; testa exter- 
nally gelatinous, adhering firmly to the albumen, which is horny ; embryo minute, excen- 
trical, with the radicle next the hilum. — Shrubs, either unarmed or spiny. Leaves alternate, 
lobed, with a plaited vernation. Floivers in axillary racemes, with bracts at their base, 
rarely unisexual. 
Affinities. Notwithstanding the great dissimilarity in the appearance 
of these plants and Cactacese, the two orders were formerly confounded, and 
are still accounted by most wTiters conterminous, chiefly on account of their 
both having inferior pulpy fruit and parietal placentae, resemblances which are 
altogether those of analogy, and not of affinity. Von Martins, however, fCon- 
spectus, no. 222,^/ abandons this view, and stations them somewhere between 
Saxifragaceae and Onagraceae, associating the former with Francoaceae. I 
cannot but think, however, that considering the strongly marked habit of 
Grossulaceae, and notwithstanding the similarity betvreen the flowers of Ribes 
speciosum and Fuchsia, this order’s true affinities are of another nature, and 
are best indicated by the excess of albumen in the seeds. Berberaceae, for ex- 
ample, may be considered Grossulaceae with superior fruit and peculiar anthers, 
and Pittosporaceae with their succulent fi'uit, and aromatic leaves are again 
little more than Grossulaceae with superior fruit having a central placenta and 
with undivided leaves ; this latter character being diminished in importance by 
the fact of the lower leaves of SoUya heterophyUa being serrated, which is the 
first tendency to separation into lobes, and by the decided although irregular 
lacerations of the leaves of at least one species of Pittosporum (rhombifolium) . 
Bursaria, too, is spiny like Ribes. 
Geography. Natives of the mountains, hills, woods, and thickets, of the 
temperate parts of Europe, Asia, and America, but unknown in Africa, the 
tropics of either hemisphere, or the South Sea Islands. In North America 
they are particularly abundant, and on the mountains of Northern India they 
contribute to give a European character to that remarkable region. 
Properties. The properties of the Gooseberry and Currant are those of 
the generality of the order, except that in other species a mawkish or extremely 
acid taste is substituted for the refreshing- and agreeable flavour of the former. 
Some are emetic; one is said to be intoxicating (R. InebriansJ . The black 
Currant, which is tonic and stimulant, has fragrant glands upon its leaves and 
flowers ; these reservoirs are also found upon some other species. Malic acid 
exists in Currants and Gooseberries. Turner, 634. 
