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Ribes americanum
Also called Roxborough currant, Wild Black Currant, Blank Currant
Ribes americanum is a deciduous North American shrub in the gooseberry family (Grossulariaceae), also called wild or American black currant, growing 0.5 to 1.5 m tall. It is grown or gathered mainly for its edible black berries, and it tolerates shade and moist soils.
Ribes americanum is a North American species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family known as wild black currant, American black currant, and eastern black currant. It is widespread in much of Canada (from Alberta to Nova Scotia) and the northern United States (from New England to Washington, with additional populations in Colorado and New Mexico).
This shrub is native to the United States and Canada where grows in a variety of ecosystems. It occurs in many types of forests and in conifer bogs. In Manitoba it can be found in marshes. In the Great Lakes region it grows abundantly in sedge meadows (Carex spp.). Ribes americanum grows on plains and in mountains and sometimes in disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is also shade-tolerant, growing in the understory of closed-canopy woodlands and forests.
Native Americans made pemmican from the berries, which are also known for being made into jam and jelly.
Golden currant · Stinky Black Currant · Hillside gooseberry · Wax currant · Spreading gooseberry · Miccosukee gooseberry · Skunk currant · Northern black currant · Whiteflower currant · Prickly currant · Laurel Leaved Currant · Trailing black currant
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ribes americanum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
