BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
153 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
THE CURRANT FAMILY. (Grossulace^e, Dec.) 
Character of the Order _Calyx superior, four or five-parted, 
regular, coloured. Petals five, inserted in the throat of the calyx. 
Stamens five, inserted alternately with the petals. Ovarium onc- 
celled, with two opposite parietal placenta;; ovules numerous ; style 
two-three-four-cleft. Berry crowned with the remains of the flower, 
one-celled ; the cell filled with pulp. Seeds numerous, suspended 
Description, &c. —The only genus contained in this 
it will be more appropriate under the head of the genus. 
among the pulp by long filiform funiculi ; testa externally gelatinous, 
adhering firmly to the albumen, which is horny ; embryo minute, 
ex-centrical, with the radicula next the hilum. Shrubs, either unarmed 
or spiny. Leaves alternate, lobed, with a plaited vernation. Flowers 
in axillary racemes, with bractete at their base. ( Lindley .) 
order is Ribes; and conseqtiently all that can be said of 
GENUS I. 
THE RIBES. (Ribes, Lin.) 
Lin. Sijst. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Petals five. Calyx bell-shaped, its border five-cleft, bearing the petals and stamens. Style cloven. Berry with many 
seeds. {Smith.) 
Description, &c. —The genus Ribes is divided by botanists into two sections; the one containing the 
Currants, and the other the Gooseberries. The Currants are distinguished by their stems being without prickles, 
and their flowers generally in long racemes. The Gooseberries, on the contrary, have prickly stems, and the 
racemes seldom contain more than one or two flowers, or, at most, three. In the British species, the fruit of 
the Currant and that of the Gooseberry are sufficiently different not to require any botanical distinction ; but in 
some of the North American species they approach so nearly together, that it is difficult to know to which 
division they belong when the fruit is seen apart from the plant. The word Ribes is the Arabic for an acid 
plant. The genus is placed in the Linnsean class Pentandria, from its five stamens; and in the order Monogynia, 
from its single style. 
* Without prickles. Currants. 
1. —THE COMMON RED CURRANT. (Ribes rubruii, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1289 ; 2nd ed., t. 338 ; and our fig. 1, in PI. 36. 
Specific Character. —No prickles. Clusters smooth, pendulous. Flowers but slightly concave. Petals inversely heart-shaped. {Smith.) 
Description, &c. —The Common Red Currant is found in several parts of Scotland, and in the North of 
England ; growing generally in woods, where it forms a bush of from four to six feet high, and flowering in 
April and May. The fruit is rather acid, but it is far from disagreeable to eat. 
2.— THE SPIKED-FLOWERED, OR TREE CURRANT. (Ribes spicatum, Robson.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1290 ; 2nd ed., t. 340 ; and our I Specific Character. —No prickles. Spikes upright. Flowers nearly 
fig- 2, in PI. 36. I sessile. Petals oblong. Bracteas shorter than the flowers. (Smith.) 
Description, &e.—This species is the most common in Britain ; and it is well known under the name of the 
Tree Currant in the woods of Yorkshire and Durham. Its greatest peculiarity is its upright spike of fruit; and 
this, combined with its general tree-like character, makes it easily distinguished from the other species. The 
fruit is small and acrid. This plant is sometimes called the Acid Mountain Currant. 
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