About
Ribes malvaceum, the chaparral currant, is a spineless winter-flowering shrub of California and northern Baja California with pink flowers and bloom-covered purple berries, popular in native gardens.
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.
- Light
- Bright conditions, including the dry shade beneath oaks.
- Mature size
- 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
A shrub 1.5–3 m tall without nodal spines. Leaves 2–5 cm across are 3–5-lobed, toothed and glandular-hairy. Open racemes of 10–25 flowers have a pink tube, pink-purple sepals and pink to white petals. Berries are glaucous purple, 6–7 mm, glandular and white-haired.
Distribution & habitat
California and northern Baja California from sea level to about 1,500 m, in chaparral, foothill oak woodland and closed-cone pine forest.
Ecology
Flowers October to April in the wild and are an important nectar source for large numbers of native bees.
Cultivation notes
Sold by specialist nurseries for traditional and native gardens and as a bird food plant. Does well under oaks in bright, dry conditions.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Mexico
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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