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blood currant, flowering currant, red currant, red-flowering currant, redflower currant, winter currant

black gooseberry, black swamp gooseberry, bristly black gooseberry, bristly swamp currant, gadellier lacustre, prickly currant, swamp currant, swamp gooseberry, swamp or prickly or bristly black currant

Habit Plants 1–4 m. Plants 1–2 m.
Stems

erect, finely pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

spines at nodes absent;

prickles on internodes absent.

erect to spreading or prostrate, finely puberulent, sometimes glabrous except for prickles, not glandular;

spines at nodes 1–3, 3–12 mm;

prickles on internodes scattered to dense.

Leaves

petiole 2–7 cm, puberulent, short stipitate-glandular;

blade broadly reniform or cordate-orbiculate to deltate-ovate, nearly equally to irregularly 5-lobed, cleft nearly 1/4 to midrib, 2–7 cm, base subtruncate to cordate, surfaces puberulent to whitish-tomentose abaxially, puberulent adaxially or puberulent and colorless, sessile-glandular on both surfaces, lobes deltate to obtuse, margins finely 2–3 times crenate and denticulate or serrate, apex broadly acute.

petiole 0.7–5.5 cm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

blade pentagonal, 3–7-lobed, cleft 1/2+ to midrib and again irregularly shallowly cleft, 1–7.8 cm, base truncate or cordate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely puberulent, sometimes glandular on main veins abaxially, sometimes with scattered, yellow, sessile, crystalline glands, lobes acutish, margins deeply 1 or 2 times crenate-dentate, apex acute.

Inflorescences

pendent to stiffly spreading or ascending or erect, 5–40-flowered racemes, 5–15 cm, axis crisped-pubescent and stipitate-glandular, flowers evenly spaced.

spreading to pendent, 5–18(–25)-flowered racemes, 3–4 cm, axis reddish stipitate-glandular and puberulent, flowers evenly spaced.

Pedicels

jointed, 5–10 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

bracts oblanceolate or lanceolate, 2–12 mm, with scattered, short hairs and stalked glands.

jointed (joint sometimes obscured by glands and difficult to see especially on short pedicels; may appear as darker line immediately proximal to ovary), 2–10 mm, glandular-bristly;

bracts linear-lanceolate, 1.8–4 mm, puberulent and reddish or purplish stipitate-glandular.

Flowers

hypanthium white, pink, rose, or red, tubular to campanulate, 3–7 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

sepals not overlapping, spreading or reflexed, white, pink, or red, ovate-elliptic or oblong to oblanceolate or lanceolate, 4–5 mm;

petals not or nearly connivent to connivent, erect, white or pink to red, obovate-spatulate to oblong or almost square, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 1–3.5 mm;

nectary disc not prominent;

stamens shorter than to as long as petals;

filaments linear or slightly expanded at base, 1.2–2 mm, glabrous;

anthers cream, oblong-oval, 0.5–0.8 mm, apex shallowly notched;

ovary stipitate-glandular to strongly stipitate-glandular and crisped-puberulent;

styles connate nearly to stigmas, 4–6 mm, glabrous or with scattered, stipitate glands at base.

hypanthium cream to orangish, shallowly saucer-shaped to crateriform, (0.7–)1–1.2(–1.5) mm, glabrous;

sepals somewhat overlapping, spreading or reflexed, cream to pale yellowish green or dull reddish brown, reddish color deepening with age, very broadly ovate-oblong, 1.5–3.5 mm;

petals widely separated, erect, pale yellowish green distally and reddish proximally to reddish throughout, broadly fan-shaped to semicircular, cuneate-flabellate, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 1–1.5(–1.7) mm;

nectary disc prominent, pinkish, raised, angled, covering most of ovary;

stamens slightly longer than petals;

filaments linear, 1.1–1.7 mm, glabrous;

anthers yellow, transversely oblong, 0.5–1 mm, broader than long, apex blunt;

ovary sparsely to thickly stipitate-glandular with slender, usually reddish- to purplish-tipped hairs, rarely glabrous;

styles connate to middle, 1.4–2 mm, glabrous.

Berries

palatable but insipid, blue-black, glaucous, ovoid or globose, 3–9(–10) mm, yellowish or greenish stipitate-glandular.

palatable but insipid, red, becoming black or dark purple, ellipsoid, 4–8(–14) mm, slenderly stipitate-glandular, bristly with reddish stipitate-glandular hairs.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Ribes sanguineum

Ribes lacustre

Phenology Flowering Apr–Aug.
Habitat Moist woods, conifer swamps, stream banks, dry forest slopes, subalpine ridges, krummholtz
Elevation 0-3400 m [0-11200 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC [Introduced in c Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AL; CA; CO; CT; ID; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Ribes sanguineum is widely cultivated. It begins to bloom very early in the season, providing a nectar source for pollinators when little else is available.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The petals and stamens are inserted on the rim of the pink nectary disc in Ribes lacustre.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Parent taxa Grossulariaceae > Ribes Grossulariaceae > Ribes
Sibling taxa
R. acerifolium, R. amarum, R. americanum, R. aureum, R. binominatum, R. bracteosum, R. californicum, R. canthariforme, R. cereum, R. curvatum, R. cynosbati, R. diacanthum, R. divaricatum, R. echinellum, R. erythrocarpum, R. glandulosum, R. hirtellum, R. hudsonianum, R. indecorum, R. inerme, R. lacustre, R. lasianthum, R. laxiflorum, R. leptanthum, R. lobbii, R. malvaceum, R. marshallii, R. menziesii, R. mescalerium, R. missouriense, R. montigenum, R. nevadaense, R. nigrum, R. niveum, R. oxyacanthoides, R. pinetorum, R. quercetorum, R. roezlii, R. rotundifolium, R. rubrum, R. sericeum, R. speciosum, R. thacherianum, R. triste, R. tularense, R. uva-crispa, R. velutinum, R. viburnifolium, R. victoris, R. viscosissimum, R. watsonianum, R. wolfii
R. acerifolium, R. amarum, R. americanum, R. aureum, R. binominatum, R. bracteosum, R. californicum, R. canthariforme, R. cereum, R. curvatum, R. cynosbati, R. diacanthum, R. divaricatum, R. echinellum, R. erythrocarpum, R. glandulosum, R. hirtellum, R. hudsonianum, R. indecorum, R. inerme, R. lasianthum, R. laxiflorum, R. leptanthum, R. lobbii, R. malvaceum, R. marshallii, R. menziesii, R. mescalerium, R. missouriense, R. montigenum, R. nevadaense, R. nigrum, R. niveum, R. oxyacanthoides, R. pinetorum, R. quercetorum, R. roezlii, R. rotundifolium, R. rubrum, R. sanguineum, R. sericeum, R. speciosum, R. thacherianum, R. triste, R. tularense, R. uva-crispa, R. velutinum, R. viburnifolium, R. victoris, R. viscosissimum, R. watsonianum, R. wolfii
Subordinate taxa
R. sanguineum var. glutinosum, R. sanguineum var. sanguineum
Key
1. Racemes 5-15(-20)-flowered, erect to stiffly spreading or ascending; sepals red.
var. sanguineum
1. Racemes 15-40-flowered, pendent; sepals pink to white.
var. glutinosum
Synonyms R. oxyacanthoides var. lacustre
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 164. 1813 , (Persoon) Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl., suppl. 2: 856. 1812 ,
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 21. Treatment author: Nancy R. Morin. FNA vol. 8, p. 26. Treatment author: Nancy R. Morin.
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