Ribes bracteosum |
Ribes nigrum |
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blue currant, California black currant, stink currant |
cultivated black currant, European black currant, gadellier noir, garden black currant |
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Habit | Plants 1–4 m. Stems erect, with dense, yellowish, shiny, sessile, crystalline, round glands, sparsely pubescent throughout; spines at nodes absent; prickles on internodes absent. | Plants 1–2 m. Stems erect, glandular and puberulent or nearly glabrous; spines at nodes absent; prickles on internodes absent. |
Leaves | petiole 2–10 cm, sparsely pubescent; blade ovate, deeply 5–7-lobed, cleft 1/2+ to midrib, (1.5–)2–10(–22) cm, base cordate, surfaces with yellow, dull, sessile glands and sparse hairs abaxially, with yellow, shiny, sessile glands and glabrous adaxially, lobes with main segments ovate-lanceolate, margins 1–2 times sharply serrate, apex acute, shallowly lobed. |
petiole 1–4 cm, pubescent, sometimes with longer setose hairs basally; blade reniform, 3–5-lobed, cleft nearly to midrib, 5–10 cm, base cordate, surfaces with shiny, resinous glands, lobes broadly ovate, margins irregularly serrate, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | ascending to erect, 20–50-flowered racemes, (10–)15–30 cm, axis sparsely pubescent, flowers evenly spaced. |
pendent, 4–10-flowered racemes, 3–5 cm, axis pubescent, flowers evenly spaced. |
Pedicels | jointed, 5–12 mm, pubescent and glandular; bracts conspicuous, proximal ones ovate, lobed, distal ones narrowly oblong, unlobed, (3–)4–5 mm, sparsely glandular and pubescent. |
jointed, 2–10 mm, glabrous or finely pubescent to lanate; bracts ovate, 0.5–2 mm, pubescent. |
Flowers | hypanthium green, saucer-shaped, widely flared, 0.5–1.5 mm, ± pubescent and sparsely glandular abaxially, glabrous adaxially; sepals nearly to somewhat overlapping, spreading, brownish purple to greenish or sometimes nearly white, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 3–5 mm; petals widely separated, erect, white, cuneate-flabelliform, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 1 mm; nectary disc wine red, thick, lobed, covering and submerging ovary; stamens slightly longer than petals; filaments linear to slightly broader at base, 1 mm, glabrous; anthers white, transversely oblong-cordate, 0.5 mm, broader than long, apex shallowly notched; ovary somewhat hairy and densely sessile-glandular; styles connate 1/4–1/2 their lengths, 1 mm, glabrous or hairy. |
hypanthium green, cup-shaped or short-campanulate, 3–4 mm, densely pubescent or tomentose; sepals not overlapping, reflexed, greenish or pinkish abaxially, suffused with purple adaxially, oblong, 5–7 mm; petals nearly connivent, erect, white to reddish, bluntly deltate, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 1.5–3 mm; nectary disc prominent, green or purplish, circular, covering ovary; stamens slightly longer than petals; filaments linear, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous with some glands; anthers white, sagittate, 1 mm, apex blunt; ovary pubescent, sessile-glandular; styles connate nearly to stigmas, 3 mm, very finely hairy. |
Berries | bland, black, subglobose, 8–10 mm, glandular. |
sweet-tasting, black, globose, 12–15 mm, glabrous with some sessile glands. |
2n | = 16. |
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Ribes bracteosum |
Ribes nigrum |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Jun. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Stream banks, moist woods, floodplains, shorelines, thickets, avalanche tracks | Wet meadows, disturbed streamsides, anthropogenic habitats |
Elevation | 0-1700 m (0-5600 ft) | 100-300 m (300-1000 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC
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CT; IL; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OH; VT; WI; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Ribes bracteosum occurs along the Pacific Coast from southeastern Alaska to northern California. Its thin leaves have a sweetish, disagreeable odor and the conspicuous bracts bear acicular, mostly persistent processes near the base along the slightly winged, stipular margins. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ribes nigrum is the source of the cultivated black currant. It has a strong, unpleasant odor. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 18. | FNA vol. 8, p. 18. |
Parent taxa | Grossulariaceae > Ribes | Grossulariaceae > Ribes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Douglas: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 233. 1832 , | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 201. 1753 , |
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