Ribes bracteosum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit, about 5mm in diameter, can be eaten raw or cooked, though it is not very palatable and can cause stomach upsets if eaten in large quantities. It has a mild blackcurrant flavour, a mealy texture, and a slight bitterness, and is less juicy than a true blackcurrant. It ripens in September and is acceptable in small amounts raw; it also works well in pies and preserves, and makes an excellent jam. The fruit can be dried and stored for winter use. Native North American Indians considered it constipating and would eat it with oil. It is produced on long racemes, making it considerably easier to harvest than most currants.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a warm temperate to Mediterranean climate plant. It grows along shaded stream banks.

Alaska, Canada, North America, USA,

How to Identify

An erect, scraggly shrub. It grow 2-3 m tall. The bark is grey and dotted with yellow glands. The leaves are large. They have 5-7 lobes. There are teeth around the edge. The plant has a musky odour. The flowers are small and white to green. They are in long erect clusters. The berries are round and blue. They have a waxy coat. The fruit are edible but the taste varies.

Nutrition Score: 35/100

How to Grow

Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality. Requires a sunny position. Hardy to about -20°c. 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. The fruit is produced on long sprigs and is therefore easier to harvest. It is being used in modern breeding programmes for blackcurrants.

Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months of cold stratification at 2–5°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 and grow on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting 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

The fruits can be eaten in quantity to act as a laxative. An infusion of the stems has been given to children as a treatment for colds.

Other Uses

None known.

Ribes bracteosum, the stink currant, is a species of currant native to western coastal North America. R. bracteosum is a deciduous shrub, without thorns, growing to 3 metres (10 feet) tall. The leaves are 5–20 centimetres (2–8 inches) across, palmately lobed with 5 or 7 lobes. The flowers are produced in spring after the leaves emerge, on racemes 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long containing 20–40 flowers; each flower is 5–10 millimetres (3⁄16–3⁄8 inch) in diameter, with five white or greenish-tinged petals. The fruit, born in clusters, is dark blue with a whitish bloom.

Notes

There are about 150 Ribes species.

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