Ribes lacustre
prickly currant
Family GrossulariaceaeAlso called bristly black currant, black swamp gooseberry, black gooseberry
About
Ribes lacustre, the prickly currant or black swamp gooseberry, is a bristly shrub found across much of North America from lowland swamps to subalpine forest.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Mature size
- 0.5–2 m (1.5–6.5 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
An erect to spreading shrub 0.5–2 m tall. Palmate, deciduous leaves 2.5–5 cm wide usually have five deep lobes, a heart-shaped base and glossy dark green upper surfaces. Hanging racemes of 5–15 reddish to maroon, disk-shaped flowers appear April to August on bristly stems with thick nodal spines. Older bark is cinnamon coloured; berries are dark purple, 6–8 mm.
Distribution & habitat
California to Alaska and east across North America to Pennsylvania and Newfoundland, south to New Mexico, from low-elevation forests and swamps to the subalpine zone.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Canada
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Crossed R. lacustre with another species?Register the cross. If it's not documented yet you'll be the first contributor; if someone already registered it, you'll be taken there to add your photo.