Ribes americanum (Wild Black Currant) Saxifragaceae

Ribes americanum, or the Wild Black Currant, is a flowering shrub that is native to most of North America, including Lake County. The fruits produced by the plant are edible and can be used in a variety of sweet treats.

Physical Characteristics

Leaf: The leaves of the Wild Black Currant are simple, alternate, and palmate, and usually have three lobes with coarse teeth.

Flower: The flowers of the plant are yellow-green and have a slight bell shape. They are clustered together in a drooping inflorescence. The fruit that forms is a round dark purple berry.

Shape: The Wild Black Currant shrub can grow up to 7 feet tall.

Ecological Characteristics

The Wild Black Currant is naturally distributed across about half of the US and Canada, typically in partly shady, low-lying moist woodlands. The plant is endangered in Maryland but is considered an invasive weed in Michigan.

Wild Black Currant Shrub Distribution

Relationships with Other Species

Non-human: Honeybees and bumblebees pollinate the flowers. The leaves are food for the caterpillars of the Green Comma Butterfly ( Polygonia faunas) and the larvae of the Currant Fruit Fly ( Euphantra canadensis), and a large variety of woodland creatures, including birds, squirrels, foxes, and deer, enjoy the currant itself.

Humans: The black currant fruit has been used for human consumption for centuries. Native Americans used them for their curative properties, and both Native Americans and newly-settled Europeans used the currants to make jams and jellies, and they could be dried to make a raisin-like snack.

Other Interesting Facts

• The black currant fruit is a very nutritious berry, high in Vitamins A and C, and in potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.

• R. americanum is in the gooseberry family, and is closely related to gooseberries and several other species of currants.
• The Ribes genus lends its name to Ribena, a black currant concentrated drink that is wildly popular outside of the United States.

References

http://gardeninacity.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/currant-events-berries-for-the-birds/

http://floweryprose.com/2011/09/02/the-last-dregs-of-summer/

http://toronto-wildlife.com/Trees/Currant_family/more_currant_wb.html

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RIAM2

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/wb_currant.htm  

http://lewisandclarktoday.net/8/23.html

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1011377/ribena-pushes-variants-pick-own-ads

http://www.voyageurcountry.com/htmls/floweringplants/plants/currantblack.html

Page drafted by Adaobi Okoli

Wild Black Currant

( Ribes americanum)

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