Ribes hudsonianum
northern black currant
Family GrossulariaceaeAlso called Hudson Bay currant, western black currant
About
Ribes hudsonianum, the northern black currant, is a strongly scented, spineless currant of moist northern and western North American woods with bitter but edible black berries.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Mature size
- 0.5–2 m (1.5–6.5 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
An upright shrub 0.5–2 m tall, aromatic with a scent usually thought unpleasant. Stems carry shiny yellow resin glands and no spines. Leaves 2.5–12.5 cm long have five sharply toothed lobes. Erect spike-like racemes hold up to 50 whitish flowers; black berries about 1 cm across are waxy and yellow-speckled.
Distribution & habitat
Moist woods, streambanks and swamp thickets from montane to subalpine zones. Var. hudsonianum ranges across Canada from Quebec west and into Alaska, the Great Lakes and the northern Rockies; var. petiolare is mainly in the western US and British Columbia.
History & etymology
Two varieties are recognised. The Nlaka'pamux take black currants around a lake as a sign that it likely holds fish.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Canada, United States
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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