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Ribes rubrum

Common name:	Red Currant	Family:	Grossulariaceae
Author:	L. pro parte sense Jancz.	Botanical references:	11, 17, 200
Synonyms:	Ribes vulgare (Lam.), Ribes silvestre ((Lam.)Mert.&Koch.)
Known Hazards:	The fresh leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide, though details of quantities are not given[240]. This substance is found in several foods, including almonds. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Range:	Western Europe, including Britain.
Habitat:	Damp soils in hedges and woods, avoiding acid soils[7, 9, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	R. rubrum var. sativum[G] R. sativum[B,G,P] R. schlechtendalii[H] R. spicatum[H] R. sylvestre[B,G,P] R. vulgare var. macrocarpum[G] R. vulgare var. sylvestre[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Aalbes [D], Cultivated Currant [P], Groseilles [E], Grosellero [E], Northern Red Currant [B], Red Currant [L,H], Reps [H], Ribs [H], Risp [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	rubrum = red;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Currant family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Haiti; Spain

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, By Walls, By North Wall, By East Wall.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[1, 2, 5, 11]. A pleasant acid flavour, it can be eaten out of hand but is more often cooked in pies, jams etc[K]. There are rather a lot of seeds in each fruit[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic; Antiscorbutic; Aperient; Poultice; Refrigerant; Sialagogue.

The fruit is antiscorbutic, aperient, depurative, digestive, diuretic, laxative, refrigerant and sialagogue[4, 7, 21].
The leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide[240]. A concoction of them is used externally to relieve rheumatic symptoms[7]. They are also used in poultices to relieve sprains or reduce the pain of dislocations[7].

Other Uses

Cosmetic; Dye.

A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves[100].
A black dye is obtained from the fruit[100].
The fruit is used cosmetically in face-masks for firming up tired and lifeless skin[7].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[11, 200]. Plants are quite tolerant of shade, even succeeding on a north-facing wall[200], though they do not fruit so well in such a position[11]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 to 6[200].
Hardy to about -20°c[200].
Red currants are often cultivated in temperate zones for their edible fruit, there are some named varieties, including forms with white fruits[4, 61]. Most cultivars are self-fertile and set a good crop on their own[200]. The fruit is produced at the base of one-year old and older wood, plants start to fruit at 3 - 4 years from seed[200].
This is an aggregate species comprising R. spicatum and R. rubrum. There is some confusion in nomenclature with some botanists only recognising 2 species, R. silvestre. (syn R. sativum) and R. spicatum (syn R. rubrum)[17, 200].
Plants can harbour a stage of white pine blister rust, so should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees[155]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at between 0 and 5°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[113, 164]. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[78, 113].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[78, 200].

Cultivars

'Versailles Blanche': The large light-yellow fruit has a juicy, sweet flesh[183]. It ripens early, about the beginning of July[183]. A fairly strong, vigorous, upright bush, it is very heavy bearing and has sprigs of medium length[183].
'Stanza'
'Redstart': The plant produces very heavy crops of sweet juicy fruits. Ripening later than most redcurrants, the fruit is ready for picking in early August.
'Laxton's No. 1'': The medium-size fruit has a very bright red skin, the flesh is juicy and the seeds small[183]. It ripens in mid-season, about the middle of July[183]. A strong, vigorous, upright to spreading bush, it is a heavy and consistent bearer[183]. The berries are thickly bunched on sprigs of medium length[183].

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Cool Temperate Nurseries: 10 Ivy Grove
Nottingham
NG7 7LZ
Email: philcorbett53@hotmail.com
Phone 0115 847 8302 Fax 0115 847 8302
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Cool Temperate by email/phone
Notes: Many Trees supplied on their own rootstock
Last Updated: April 03
Item: Ribes
Varities: Black Velvet

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for ribes rubrum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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