Ribes laurifolium
Jancz.
Laurel-leaved currant
(c) Daniel Cahen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Daniel Cahen
(c) megladon540, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit is a blackcurrant, purple in colour and up to 20mm long and 10mm wide, and can be eaten raw or cooked. The skin is hairy in subspecies laurifolium and smooth in subspecies yunnanense.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. In China it grows at elevations of 2,100-3,600 m above sea level. It suits USDA hardiness zones 8-11.
Asia, China,
How to Identify
A spreading shrub. The leaves are leathery and oblong. The flowers are bell shaped. The fruit are red and ripen to black.
How to Grow
Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality. Plants are quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position. Hardy to about -15°c if given shelter from cold drying winds. Plants are of slow to moderate growth. They can be slow to establish, often taking a year or two to settle down when planted out. The flowers emit a soft sweet perfume. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if fruit and seed is required. Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.
Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 0–5°C and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Under normal storage conditions seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle, grow on in a cold frame for their first winter, then plant out in late spring the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10–15cm with a heel, can be taken in July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, can be taken November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors.
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Other Uses
None known.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Ribes laurifolium, the laurel-leaved currant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to China, in Guizhou, West Sichuan and Yunnan.
References (1)
- Ferns, Plants for a Future.
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