Ribes sanguineum
flowering currant
Family GrossulariaceaeAlso called redflower currant, red-flowering currant
About
Ribes sanguineum, the flowering currant, is a western North American deciduous shrub grown widely in gardens for its hanging clusters of red, pink or white flowers in early spring.
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
- Up to 3 m (10 ft) tall and wide.
Field notes
Morphology
A multi-stemmed deciduous shrub to 3 m tall and wide, upright-arching to rounded. Dark grey-brown bark has pale lenticels. Five-lobed leaves 2–7 cm long smell resinous when young. Drooping racemes of 5–30 red, pink or white flowers open with the leaves; the dark purple oval berry is about 1 cm and bland.
Distribution & habitat
Western Canada, the western United States and Mexico: widespread west of the Cascades in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, coastal California south to Santa Barbara County, and Guadalupe Island in Mexico, where it may be gone.
Ecology
Early nectar feeds hummingbirds and butterflies; moth and butterfly larvae eat the leaves, deer and elk browse it, birds and small mammals eat the berries, and birds nest in its branches. It hosts white pine blister rust.
Cultivation notes
A popular garden shrub for its early scented flowers and wildlife value, with many cultivars from white to dark red; 'Koja', 'Poky's Pink' and White Icicle hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
History & etymology
The epithet means blood-red. David Douglas introduced it to Britain in 1826 from seed collected for the Royal Horticultural Society, and it quickly became popular with English gardeners.
Conservation
Secure across most of its range but critically imperilled in Idaho.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Canada, Mexico
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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