Ribes ussuriense

Jancz.

Karafuto-kuro-suguri

GrossulariaceaeFruit

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Daba, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Сергей, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit is a blackcurrant eaten raw or cooked, with berries around 8mm in diameter.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Asia, Korea, Manchuria,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

Deciduous shrub with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by insects. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Tolerates mildly acidic to basic pH and semi-shade to full sun conditions. Prefers consistently moist soil.

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 -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. Sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit, there are some named varieties. This species is also used in blackcurrant breeding programmes. The shoots are highly aromatic with a scent reminiscent of camphor. Plants produce suckers.

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 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 through their first winter, and plant out in late spring the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10–15cm with a heel, can be taken in July or August and rooted in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood from 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. Suckers can also be divided during the dormant season and planted out directly into permanent positions.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

None known.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Ribes ussuriense (common name - Korean black currant) is an Asian species of Ribes (currant), first described in 1906 by Edward Janczewski (in 1904 the name alone was published) The species epithet, ussuriense, means that the species comes from Ussuri. It is considered to be a synonym of Ribes procumbens by Plants of the World Online, which follows Chang, Kim & Chang (2014, 2021). However, it is considered to be a separate species by Russian authorities, and by the Korean National Species List (국가종목록).

Notes

There are about 150 Ribes species.

References (5)

Bull. Int. Acad. Sci. Cracovie, Cl. Sci. Math. 1906:12. 1906
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 121
Keep, E., 1979, Currants, in Simmonds N.W.,(ed), Crop Plant Evolution. Longmans. London. p 145
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 39