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

Mount Adams gooseberry, spiny gooseberry, spring gooseberry, wastson gooseberry, Watson gooseberry, Watson's gooseberry

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

erect, finely pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

spines at nodes absent;

prickles on internodes absent.

ascending to erect, copiously grayish-hairy and abundantly stipitate-glandular, very slightly if at all bristly;

spines at nodes 1 or 3, 3–7(–10) mm;

prickles on internodes absent.

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 2–4 cm, puberulent to pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

blade broadly triangular, 3–5-lobed, cleft less than 1/2 to midrib, again 2–5 cleft, 2–5 cm, base truncate or cordate, surfaces thickly puberulent to pubescent, stipitate-glandular, lobes broad, rounded, margins coarsely crenate-denticulate, apex rounded.

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.

pendent, solitary flowers or 2(–3)-flowered racemes, 2–4 cm, axis pubescent, stipitate-glandular.

Pedicels

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

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

not jointed, 2–3 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

bracts deltate, 2–3 mm, pubescent, 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 greenish or with some reddish tinge, tubular-campanulate, 2.5–3 mm, finely pilose, sparingly glandular;

sepals not overlapping, reflexed, cream suffused with pink, narrowly oblong, 5.5–9 mm;

petals connivent, erect, white, pinkish proximally, oblong, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 3.5–4 mm;

nectary disc not prominent;

stamens as long as or slightly longer than petals;

filaments linear, 2–3 mm, glabrous;

anthers white, oblong, 0.8–1.2 mm, apex rounded;

ovary densely glandular-bristly;

styles connate 3/4 their lengths, 6 mm, glabrous.

Berries

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

palatability not known, reddish, subglobose, 10 mm, densely yellowish-spiny.

2n

= 16.

Ribes sanguineum

Ribes watsonianum

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Canyons, ridges
Elevation 1300-2200 m [4300-7200 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC [Introduced in c Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OR; WA; AB; BC
[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.)

Ribes watsonianum occurs in the Cascade Range of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and in Alberta. Analysis of combined datasets of ITS, ETS, psbA-trnH, and chloroplast restriction sites placed R. watsonianum as sister to sect. Grossularia (L. M. Schultheis and M. J. Donoghue 2004).

(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. 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. sanguineum, R. sericeum, R. speciosum, R. thacherianum, R. triste, R. tularense, R. uva-crispa, R. velutinum, R. viburnifolium, R. victoris, R. viscosissimum, 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 Grossularia watsoniana
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 164. 1813 , Koehne: Deut. Dendrol., 197. 1893 ,
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 21. Treatment author: Nancy R. Morin. FNA vol. 8, p. 34. Treatment author: Nancy R. Morin.
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