Stink Currant                      The Currant Family–Grossulariaceae

 Ribes bracteosum Douglas ex Hook.

(rye-BEEZ  brak-tee-OH-sum)

Names: Stink Currant is also sometimes called Blue Currant, Stinking Black Currant or Californian Black Currant.  All parts of this plant are sprinkled with yellow glands that emit a sweet-skunky odor—giving it its common name.  Bracteosum refers to the 1-3 tiny bracteoles (small bracts) immediately under the flower. Currants and gooseberries belong to the genus Ribes (from the Arabic or Persian word ribas meaning acid-tasting).

Relationships: Some taxonomists separate gooseberries into the genus or subgenus, grossularia.  In general, gooseberry plants have prickles; currants do not.  Ribes is the only genus in grossulariaceae; which is closely allied with escalloniaceae, and iteaceae; all formerly included in saxifragaceae.  There are about 150 species of Ribes in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, northwest Africa, Central America and in the Andes of South America; with about 50 native to North America.  30 are listed in the Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest.  About 7-8 are native to the west side of the Cascades with about a dozen more found chiefly on the east side of the Cascades and ~17 limited to California or Oregon.

Distribution: This species is native from southern Alaska to the northern California coast, mostly on the west side of the Cascades.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growth: Stink Currants grow from 4-9 feet (1.5-3m) tall.

Habitat: They usually in moist to wet woods, along streambanks. Wetland designation: FAC, Facultative, it is equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands.

Diagnostic Characters: Leaves are large, like maple leaves, sparsely hairy to smooth, with 5 to 7 lobes, stinky when crushed.  Flowers are numerous on mostly erect clusters; with white petals and brownish-purple to greenish-white calyces.  Berries are blue-black with a whitish bloom.

 

In the Landscape: Stink Currant has not been used much in ornamental landscapes but its large maple-like leaves are attractive and its flowers are interesting. The leaves turn yellow in the fall,  It could be just the right plant for a shady woodland garden next to a babbling brook.

Phenology: Bloom time: May-June. Fruit ripens: August-September.

Propagation:   Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 35º F (2º C) Cuttings of semi-hardwood taken in July/August or of mature wood November-February are possible.

Use by People: Berries were eaten fresh, often with grease or oil, by several native tribes.  The Quileute removed the pith from the stem and used them to inflate seal stomachs that were used to carry oil.  The leaves were used to cover hemlock bark containers in which elderberries were stored.  The berries have been variously described as unpleasant, disagreeable and not very palatable to bland, slightly bitter, not very juicy, mealy textured, to not unpleasant, having a mild black currant flavor, and delicious.  The fruit can be used in pies, preserves, or jams.

Use by Wildlife: Currants and gooseberries are an important food for songbirds, chipmunks, and ground squirrels.  Flowers are pollinated by insects and hummingbirds.  The foliage is eaten by  Butterflies.

 Links:

USDA Plants Database

Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

WTU Herbarium Image Collection, Plants of Washington, Burke Museum

E-Flora BC, Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Jepson Eflora, University of California

Calphotos

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Virginia Tech ID Fact Sheet

Plants for a Future Database

Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn

 

 

Red Flowering Currant    The Currant Family–Grossulariaceae

Ribes sanguineum Pursh

(rye-BEEZ  sang-GWIN-ee-um)

Names: Other common names include Pink Winter Currant and Blood Currant.  Sanguineum means “blood-red;” referring to the color of the flowers; although the flowers are usually a rosy or pale pink.  You may find plants with flowers ranging from white to a deep red.  There are several named cultivated varieties with red, pink, two-tone or white flowers.  Var. glutinosum, found along the coast of California and Oregon, has less hairy leaves. Currants and gooseberries belong to the genus Ribes (from the Arabic or Persian word ribas meaning acid-tasting).

Relationships: There are about 150 species of Ribes in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, northwest Africa, Central America and in the Andes of South America; with about 50 native to North America.  30 are listed in the Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest.  About 7-8 are native to the west side of the Cascades with about a dozen more found chiefly on the east side of the Cascades and ~17 limited to California or Oregon.  None of our westside currants are very tasty; Kruckeberg recommends the eastside natives Golden Currant, Ribes aureum or Wax (or the not so politically correct Squaw) Currant, R. cereum for edible natives. Some taxonomists separate gooseberries into the genus or subgenus, grossularia.  In general, gooseberry plants have prickles; currants do not.  Ribes is the only genus in grossulariaceae; which is closely allied with escalloniaceae, and iteaceae; all formerly included in saxifragaceae. 

Distribution: Red Flowering Currant is found, mostly on the west side of the Cascades, from southern British Columbia to the coast ranges of central California; it can also be found in northern Idaho.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growth: This species grows 3-9 feet (1-3m) tall.

Habitat:  It is mostly found in dry, open woods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diagnostic Characters: Leaves are 5-lobed similar to a maple leaf, crinkly, and finely hairy on the undersides.  The foliage emits a pungent sage-like fragrance during hot summer days.   10-20 flowers are borne on drooping flower clusters.  Flower color varies from white or pale pink to rose pink or deep red.  Fruits are blue-black with glandular hairs and a waxy bloom.  Stems are reddish-brown, erect and unarmed; the young growth finely hairy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Landscape: Red Flowering Currant has been a favorite landscape plant since it was introduced to English horticulture by David Douglas.  Many horticultural varieties were developed in England and subsequently reintroduced to their native land.  Popular cultivars include: ‘King Edward VII’ and ‘Pulborough Scarlet’ with red flowers; and ‘White Icicle’, with white flowers.  Cheery blossoms welcome spring and entice migrating hummingbirds into your garden.  It is most spectacular in open areas, on slopes, or on the forest edge.  It is drought tolerant and easily lives through dry summers with little irrigation.

 

Phenology: Bloom time:  February-April.  Fruit ripens:  August-September.

Propagation:  Stratify seeds at 35º F (2º C) for 120 days or sow them outside or in a cold frame in fall. Red Flowering Currant is also easily propagated with hardwood cuttings taken in fall or semi-hardwood, earlier in summer.

Use by People: The berries were eaten fresh by some natives but are not considered very tasty.

Use by Wildlife: Flowers are pollinated by insects and hummingbirds. The pink and red flowers are like beacons to migrating Rufous Hummingbirds.  Make sure to put out your hummingbird feeders when you first begin to see Red Flowering Currant bloom in early spring! The foliage is eaten by Zephyr and other butterfly larvae. The berries are eaten by various songbirds and small mammals.

 

*Because currants and gooseberries are alternate hosts of White Pine Blister Rust, they are often controlled, or eradicated in White Pine timberlands.

Links:

USDA Plants Database

Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

WTU Herbarium Image Collection, Plants of Washington, Burke Museum

E-Flora BC, Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Jepson Eflora, University of California

Calphotos

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Virginia Tech ID Fact Sheet

Native Plants Network, Propagation Protocol Database

Plants for a Future Database

Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn

Salmonberry                              The Rose Family—Rosaceae

Rubus spectabilis Pursh.

(ROO-bus spek-tah-BIH-lus)

 Rubus, derived from ruber, a latin word for red, is the genus of plants generally called brambles. The epithet spectabilis means spectacular due to Salmonberry’s showy flowers and fruits.  The common name Salmonberry is thought to have come from the natives’ fondness for eating the berries with salmon roe, but it could also be due to the orangy-pink color of the berries.

Relationships:    Rubus is a large genus with between 400 and 750 species.  Rubus is considered taxonomically complex due to frequent hybridization and a high degree of polyploidy.  It occurs primarily in northern temperate regions, but can be found on all continents, except Antarctica.  Many are grown commercially and several cultivated varieties are prized for their large, juicy berries, including Boysenberries, Loganberries, and Marionberries.  The berries are actually aggregates of drupelets.  There are about 200 species native to North America.  In the Pacific Northwest, the three most important native species are Blackcap Raspberry, Salmonberry, and Thimbleberry.

Distribution:  Salmonberry is found from southern Alaska to the northern California coast; mostly on the western slope of the Cascades-but it can be found in areas of eastern B.C. and northern Idaho.

Growth:  This species grows to 12 feet (4m) from branching rhizomes, forming dense thickets.

Habitat: It grows in the dappled shade of moist woods and along streambanks. Wetland designation: FAC+, Facultative, it is equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands.

Diagnostic Characters:  The arching stems of Salmonberry have golden-brown, shedding bark, similar to Pacific Ninebark.  Salmonberry stems, although largely unarmed, can range from having scattered prickles to being very bristly.  Smaller twigs zigzag slightly from node to node.  Leaves have 3 sharply toothed leaflets, the lateral ones smaller and sometimes unequally lobed or divided.  Five-petalled flowers are a striking pink to reddish-purple.  The fruits are raspberry-like with a hollow core, ranging from yellow to orange-red.

 

In the landscape:  Although it has attractive flowers and fruits, Salmonberry is best delegated to the wild garden due to its prickly, thicket-forming habit.  It is a great choice for wetland restoration projects.

Phenology: Bloom time:  April-May. Fruit ripens:  May-July.

Propagation:  Stratify seeds warm for 90 days then cold at 40º F (4º C) for 90 days.  Scarification of the seed with sulfuric acid or sodium hyperchlorite prior to stratification may improve germination rates.  Salmonberry is easily propagated by cuttings, layering or division.  Remaining stumps or underground rhizomes quickly resprout new growth after a fire or other disturbance.

 

Use by People: Salmonberries, being one of the earliest berries to ripen, were one of the most important foods for natives.  The berries are too watery to dry, so were usually eaten fresh in oolichan grease or with salmon or salmon eggs.  Reports vary on the berries’ flavor from “insipid” or “inferior” to “juicy with a very good flavor” or “tasty.”  It is likely that differences in taste are due to variations within the species or the relative ripeness of each berry.  Today the berries are sometimes made into jams, jellies, candy, or wine.  Young sprouts were also an important food for natives in early spring and summer; they were peeled, eaten raw or steamed.  Preparations of the bark were used on wounds, especially burns.

Use by Wildlife: The pinkish-purple flowers of Salmonberry are attractive to Rufous Hummingbirds as they are migrating north.  The brambles rank at the very top of summer foods for wildlife, especially birds: grouse, pigeons, quail, grosbeaks, jays, robins, thrushes, towhees, waxwings, sparrows, to name just a few.  The berries are also popular with raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents.  The leaves and stems are eaten extensively by deer and rabbits.  Bear, beaver and marmots eat fruit, bark and twigs.  Flowers are usually pollinated by insects.  These usually prickly plants make impenetrable thickets where small animals find secure cover.

Links:

USDA Plants Database

Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

WTU Herbarium Image Collection, Plants of Washington, Burke Museum

E-Flora BC, Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Jepson Eflora, University of California

Calphotos

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

USDA Forest Service-Fire Effects Information System

Virginia Tech ID Fact Sheet

Native Plants Network, Propagation Protocol Database

Plants for a Future Database

Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn