Ribes

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Grossulariaceae >

Ribes >

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Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants, usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. The genus is native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Ribes includes the currants, including the edible currants (blackcurrant, redcurrant and whitecurrant), gooseberries, and many ornamental plants. The Ribes currant should not be confused with the Zante currant grape.

Seven subgenera are recognised. A few taxonomists place the gooseberry species in a separate genus, Grossularia, despite the Jostaberry gooseberry/blackcurrant hybrid.

There are restrictions on growing Ribes species in many US states as they are a host for White Pine Blister Rust.

Read about Ribes in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Ribes (probably derived from ribas, the Arabic name for Rheum Ribes, or by some supposed to be the Latinized form of riebs, an old German word for currant). Saxifragaceae. Currant. Gooseberry. Woody plants partly grown for their edible fruits and partly for their handsome flowers, fruits, or foliage. Unarmed or prickly shrubs with deciduous or rarely evergreen foliage: lvs. alternate, often fascicled, simple, usually palmately lobed and mostly plaited in the bud: fls. perfect or in some species dioecious, 5-merous, rarely 4-merous, in many-fld. to few-fld. racemes, or solitary; calyx-tube cylindric to rotate, like the sepals usually colored; petals usually smaller than the sepals, often minute, rarely entirely wanting; stamens alternating with the petals, shorter or longer than the sepals; ovary inferior, 1-celled; styles 1 or 2 (Fig. 3401): fr. a many-seeded pulpy berry, crowned by the remains of the calyx. —About 150 species in the colder and temperate regions of N. and S. Amer., N. and Cent. Asia, Eu., and N. Afr. The genus is sometimes divided into two: the true Ribes with usually unarmed sts., racemose fls., and jointed pedicels, and Grossularia (p. 1414) with prickly sts.; fls. solitary or in short 2-4-fld. racemes and with the pedicels not jointed. The most recent monograph of the genus is by Janczewski, Monographie des Groseilliers, 1907 (originally published in Mem. Soc. Phys. Nat. Hist. Geneve, 35:199-517, with 202 figs.), with important supplements in Bull. Acad. Sci. Cracovic, ser. B, 1910-13. The N. American species are treated by Coville & Britton in North American Flora, 22:193-225 (1908) under the two genera Ribes and Grossularia. There are also descriptions and figures of the more important species in Card's Bush Fruits, 444-84, figs. 80-109 (1911). The currants and gooseberies are usually low, upright or less often procumbent deciduous, rarely evergreen shrubs with prickly or unarmed branches, small or medium-sized usually lobed leaves, with rather small solitary or racemose flowers often greenish or reddish and insignificant, but in some species white or brightly colored in shades of red, scarlet, orange or yellow; the fruits also are often attractive and either black, purple, scarlet, yellowish or greenish. The flowers appear in spring with the leaves, and the fruits ripen in June or July, but in R. fasciculatum they do not mature until September and remain on the branches all winter. Most species are hardy North except the evergreen ones; also R. sanguineum, R. Roezlii, R. Lobbii, R. viscosissimum are not quite hardy North. The tender R. speciosum with fuchsia-like bright red flowers is perhaps the most showy species of the genus, though also R. sanguineum, R. odoratum, R. Gordonianum, R. Roezlii, R. Lobbii, R. pinetorum, R. cereum, R. inebrians, R. niveum, and others are handsome in bloom, while some, as R. alpinum and R. fasciculatum, have ornamental scarlet fruits. They are well adapted for borders of shrubberies and, particularly the procumbent kinds, for planting on slopes. R. alpinum is excellent for shady places and as undergrowth. R. alpestre, a strong-growing and very spiny gooseberry from western China, may prove valuable as a hedge-plant. Many species bear edible fruits; the most important are the domestic currant, R. vulgare, and the European gooseberry, R. Grossularia; of less importance are the black currant, R. nigrum, the Buffalo or Missouri currant, R. odoratum, the European R. rubrum and some of the American gooseberries, as R. hirtellum, R. Cynosbati, R. oxyacanthoides, R. setosum, R. inerme. These plants are mostly of easy cultivation; they grow in any moderately good loamy soil, the gooseberries preferring as a rule drier and sunnier positions, while the currants like more humidity and grow well in partly shaded situations. Propagation is by seeds which germinate readily; also by hardwood cuttings in autumn and by greenwood cuttings in summer under glass; mound-layering in summer is sometimes practised; budding or grafting is usually resorted to only, if quick propagation of rare varieties is desired. In Europe, currants and gooseberries are sometimes grafted high on R. odoratum trained to one stem, to form little standard trees. See also Currant and Gooseberry for cultivation. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Varieties

Selected species:

• Ribes acerifolium T.J Howell - Maple Currant, Mapleleaf Currant
• Ribes achurjani Mulk.
• Ribes aciculare Sm. - Needle-spined Gooseberry
• Ribes acidum Turcz. ex Pojark.
• Ribes acuminatum Wall. ex G.Don
• Ribes affine Kunth
• Ribes albifolium Ruiz & Pav.
• Ribes albinervium Michx.
• Ribes alpestre Wall. ex Decne.
• Ribes alpestris (Decne) A.Berger - Hedge Gooseberry
• Ribes alpinum L. - Alpine Currant
• Ribes altamirani Jancz.
• Ribes altissimum Turcz. ex Pojark. - Tall Current
• Ribes amarum McClatchie - Bitter Gooseberry
• Ribes ambiguum Maxim.
• Ribes americanum Mill. - American Blackcurrant, Wild Blackcurrant
• Ribes amictum Greene
• Ribes andicola Jancz.
• Ribes aridum Greene
• Ribes armenum Pojark.
• Ribes ascendens Eastw.
• Ribes atropurpureum C.A.Mey.
• Ribes aucheziense Jancz.
• Ribes aureum Pursh - Golden Currant
• Ribes austroecuadorense Freire-Fierro
• Ribes bethmontii Jancz.
• Ribes binominatum A.Heller - Ground Gooseberry
• Ribes bracteosum Douglas ex Hook. - Californian Blackcurrant, Stink Currant, Stinky Currant
• Ribes burejense F.Schmidt
• Ribes californicum Hook. & Arn. - Hillside Gooseberry, California Gooseberry, Monterey Gooseberry
• Ribes canthariforme Wiggins - Moreno Currant
• Ribes cereum Douglas - Squaw Currant, Wax Currant, White Field Currant, Whiskey Currant
• Ribes ciliatum Humb. & Bonpl.
• Ribes coloradense Cov. - Colorado Currant
• Ribes cruentum Greene - Shinyleaf Currant, Oregon Currant
• Ribes curvatum Small - Granite Gooseberry
• Ribes cynosbati L. - Prickly Gooseberry, Eastern Prickly Gooseberry, Dogberry, Dog Bramble
• Ribes diacanthum Pall. - Siberian Currant
• Ribes dikuscha Fisch. ex Turcz.
• Ribes distans Jancz. - Scarlet Currant
• Ribes divaricatum Douglas - Spreading Gooseberry, Wild Gooseberry, Coast Gooseberry, Coastal Black Gooseberry, Parish's Gooseberry
• Ribes echinellum (Cov.) Rehder - Miccosukee Gooseberry
• Ribes emodense Rehder - Smooth Rock Currant
• Ribes erythrocarpum Coville & Leiberg - Crater Lake Currant
• Ribes fasciculatum Siebold & Zucc. - Japanese Currant
• Ribes floridum L'Hér..
• Ribes fragrans Pall. - Fragrant-flowered Gooseberry, Sweet-flowered Gooseberry
• Ribes fuscescens (Jancz.) Jancz.
• Ribes futurum Jancz.
• Ribes gardonianum Lem.
• Ribes gayanum (Spach) Steud. - Leather-leaved Gooseberry
• Ribes giraldii Jancz.
• Ribes glabricalycinum L.T.Lu
• Ribes glabrifolium L.T.Lu
• Ribes glaciale Wallich - Glacier Currant
• Ribes glanduliferum A.Heller
• Ribes glandulosum Grauer ex Weber - White currant, Skunk Currant, Fetid Currant
• Ribes glaucescens Eastw.
• Ribes glutinosum Benth.
• Ribes gongshanense T.C.Ku
• Ribes goodingii M.E.Peck
• Ribes gracile Michx.
• Ribes grande Rose
• Ribes grantii A.Heller
• Ribes graveolens Bunge.
• Ribes greeneianum A.Heller
• Ribes griffithii Hook.f. & Thomson
• Ribes grossularia L.
• Ribes grossularioides Maxim. - Japanese Gooseberry, Catberry
• Ribes guangxiense C.Z.Gao
• Ribes hallii Jancz.
• Ribes haoi C.Y.Yang & Han
• Ribes hartwegianum Jancz.
• Ribes hendersonii C.L.Hitchc.
• Ribes henryi Franch.
• Ribes hesperium McClatchie
• Ribes heterotrichum C.A.Mey.
• Ribes himalense Royle ex Decne.
• Ribes hirtellum Michx. - North American Gooseberry, Hairystem Gooseberry, Currant Gooseberry
• Ribes hirticaule J.F.Macbr.
• Ribes hirtum Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.
• Ribes hispidulum (Jancz.) Pojark.
• Ribes hittellianum Eastw.
• Ribes holocericeum Otto & A.Dietr.
• Ribes horridum Rupr. - Thorny Currant
• Ribes houghtonianum Jancz.
• Ribes howellii Greene
• Ribes hudsonianum Richards - Northern Blackcurrant, Hudson Bay Currant, Western Blackcurrant
• Ribes humile Jancz.
• Ribes hunanense Chang Y.Yang & C.J.Qi
• Ribes huronense Rydb.
• Ribes hysterix Eastw.
• Ribes incarnatum Wedd.
• Ribes incertum J.F.Macbr.
• Ribes indecorum Eastw. - White-flowered Currant
• Ribes inebrians Lindl.
• Ribes inerme Rydb. - Whitestem Gooseberry, Klamath Gooseberry
• Ribes integrifolium Phil.
• Ribes intermedium Tausch
• Ribes irriguum Douglas
• Ribes janczewskii Pojark.
• Ribes japonicum Maxim. - Japanese Blackcurrant, Thornless Blackcurrant
• Ribes jessoniae Stapf.
• Ribes jorullense Kunth
• Ribes kansuense K.S.Hao
• Ribes kialanum Jancz.
• Ribes koehneanum Jancz.
• Ribes kolymense (Trautv.) Kom.
• Ribes komarovii Pojark.
• Ribes kunthii Berland.
• Ribes laciniatum Hook.f. & Thomson
• Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. - Black Gooseberry, Prickly Currant, Black Swamp Gooseberry
• Ribes lasianthum Greene - Alpine Gooseberry
• Ribes latifolium Jancz. - Broadleaf Currant
• Ribes laurifolium Jancz. - Evergreen Currant
• Ribes laxiflorum Pursh - Trailing Blackcurrant
• Ribes lehmannii Jancz.
• Ribes leiobotrys Koehne
• Ribes lentum (M.E.Jones) Coville & Rose
• Ribes leptanthum A.Gray - Trumpet Gooseberry
• Ribes leptosma (Coville) Fedde
• Ribes leptosmum (Coville) Standl.
• Ribes leucoderme A.Heller
• Ribes lindeni Jancz.
• Ribes liouanum Kitag.
• Ribes lioui C.Wang & Chang Y.Yang
• Ribes lobbii A.Gray - Gummy Gooseberry
• Ribes longeracemosum Franch. - Tibet Thornless Blackcurrant
• Ribes longiflorum Nutt.
• Ribes lucarense Phil.
• Ribes luridum Hook. & Thoms. - Purple Currant
• Ribes luteynii Weigend
• Ribes macrobotrys Ruiz & Pav.
• Ribes macrocalyx Hance
• Ribes macrostachyum Jancz.
• Ribes magellanicum Poir.
• Ribes malvaceum Sm. - Chaparral Currant
• Ribes malvifolium Pojark.
• Ribes mandschuricum (Maxim.) Komarov - Manchurian Redcurrant
• Ribes mariposanum Congdon
• Ribes marshallii Greene - Hupa Gooseberry
• Ribes maximowiczianum Kom.
• Ribes maximowiczii Batal.
• Ribes melananthum Boiss. & Hohen.
• Ribes melancholicum Siev. ex Pall.
• Ribes menziesii Pursh - Canyon Gooseberry, Menzies' Gooseberry
• Ribes mescalerium Coville - Mescalero Currant
• Ribes mexicanum Spreng.
• Ribes meyeri Maxim. - Meyer's Currant
• Ribes micranthum Phil.
• Ribes microphyllum Kunth
• Ribes migratorium Suksd.
• Ribes missouriense Nutt. - Missouri Gooseberry
• Ribes mogollonicum Greene
• Ribes molle (A.Gray) Howell
• Ribes montanum Howell
• Ribes monticola K.Koch
• Ribes montigenum McClat. - Gooseberry Currant
• Ribes moupinense Franch.
• Ribes multiflorum Kit. - Manyflower Currant
• Ribes nanophyllum Freire-Fierro & L.Endara
• Ribes neglectum Rose
• Ribes nelsonii Coville & Rose
• Ribes nemorosum Phil.
• Ribes nevadense Kellogg - Sierra Currant, Jaeger's Currant, Nevada Currant
• Ribes nigrum L. - Blackcurrant, European Blackcurrant
• Ribes nitidissima Neger.
• Ribes niveum Lindl. - Snow Gooseberry, Slender-branched Gooseberry
• Ribes non-scriptum (A.Berger) Standl.
• Ribes occidentale Hook. & Arn.
• Ribes odoratissimum M.McMahon ex True
• Ribes odoratum H.L.Wendl. - Buffalo Currant, Clove Currant
• Ribes oligacanthum Eastw.
• Ribes orientale Desf. - Siberian Currant
• Ribes orizabae Rose
• Ribes ovalifolium Jancz.
• Ribes ovallei Phil.
• Ribes oxyacanthoides L. - American Mountain Gooseberry, Canadian Gooseberry, Stream Gooseberry, Henderson's Gooseberry, Idaho Gooseberry
• Ribes pachyadenium Hand.-Mazz.
• Ribes pachysandroides Oliv.
• Ribes palczewskii (Jancz.) Pojark. - Palczjewski's Ribes
• Ribes pallidiflorum Pojark.
• Ribes palmeri Vasey & Rose
• Ribes panctatum Ruiz & Pav.
• Ribes parishii A.Heller
• Ribes parviflorum Wedd.
• Ribes parvifolium Phil.
• Ribes parvulum (A.Gray) Rydb.
• Ribes pauciflorum Turcz. ex Pojark. - Few-flowered Ribes
• Ribes pensylvanicum Lam.
• Ribes pentlandii Britton
• Ribes peruvianum Jancz.
• Ribes petiolare Fisch.
• Ribes petraeum Wulf. - Rock Currant, Rock Redcurrant, Bieberstein's Rock Currant
• Ribes pinetorum Greene - Orange Currant
• Ribes polyanthum Phil.
• Ribes polystachyum A.Berger
• Ribes praecox J.F.Macbr.
• Ribes pringlei Rose
• Ribes procumbens Pall. - Trailing Redcurrant
• Ribes propinquum Turcz.
• Ribes pseudofasciculatum K.S.Hao
• Ribes pulchellum Turcz.
• Ribes purpurascens A.Heller
• Ribes purpusii Koehne ex Blank.
• Ribes quercetorum Greene - Rock Gooseberry
• Ribes reclinatum L.
• Ribes recurvatum Michx.
• Ribes reniforme Nutt.
• Ribes repens A.I.Baranov
• Ribes roezlii Reg. - Sierra Gooseberry, Roezl's Gooseberry
• Ribes rosthornii Diels
• Ribes rotundifolium Michx. - Appalachian Gooseberry, Round-leaved Gooseberry
• Ribes rubrisepalum L.T.Lu
• Ribes rubrum L. - Redcurrant
• Ribes rugosum Coville & Rose
• Ribes ruizii Rehder.
• Ribes sachalinense (F.Schmidt) Nakai
• Ribes sanguineum Pursh - Flowering Currant, Redflower Currant, Blood Currant, Sticky Blood Currant, Blackseed Blood Currant, Winter Currant
• Ribes sardoum Martelli - Sardinian Currant
• Ribes saxatile Pall.
• Ribes saximontanum E.E.Nelson
• Ribes saxosum Hook.
• Ribes scandicum Hedl.
• Ribes scuphamii Eastw.
• Ribes senile (Coville) Standl.
• Ribes sericeum Eastw. - Lucia Gooseberry
• Ribes setchuense Jancz.
• Ribes setosum Lindl. - Missouri Currant
• Ribes silvestre (Lam.) Mert. & Koch (syn. R. sativum) - Woodland Currant
• Ribes sinanense F.Maek. - Chinese Gooseberry
• Ribes soulieanum Jancz.
• Ribes spathianum Koehne
• Ribes speciosum Pursh - Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry
• Ribes spicatum Robson - Nordic Redcurrant, Nordic Currant, Downy Currant
• Ribes stanfordii Elmer
• Ribes steinbachiorum Weigend & Binder
• Ribes stenocarpum Maxim. - Narrow-fruited Currant
• Ribes subvestitum Hook. & Arn.
• Ribes sucheziense Jancz.
• Ribes suksdorfii A.Heller
• Ribes takare D.Don
• Ribes tenue Jancz.
• Ribes tenuiflorum Lindl.
• Ribes texense (Coville & A.Berger) Standl.
• Ribes thacherianum (Jeps.) Munz
• Ribes tianquanense S.H.Yu & J.M.Xu
• Ribes tolimense Cuatrec.
• Ribes tortuosum Benth.
• Ribes tricuspe Nakai
• Ribes trifidum Michx.
• Ribes trilobum Meyen.
• Ribes tripartitum Batalin
• Ribes triste Pall. - Northern Redcurrant or Swamp Redcurrant, Wild Redcurrant
• Ribes tularense (Coville) Fedde. - Tulare Gooseberry
• Ribes turbinatum Pojark.
• Ribes uniflorum T.C.Ku
• Ribes urceolatum Tausch
• Ribes ussuriense Jancz. - Korean Blackcurrant
• Ribes utile Jancz.
• Ribes uva-crispa L. (syn. R. grossularia) - Gooseberry, Wild Gooseberry, European Gooseberry, English Gooseberry
• Ribes valdivianum Phil.
• Ribes valicola Greene ex Rydb.
• Ribes van-fleetianum (A.Berger) Standl.
• Ribes velutinum Greene - Desert Gooseberry, Gooding's Gooseberry
• Ribes viburnifolium A.Gray - Island Gooseberry
• Ribes victoris Greene - Victor's Gooseberry
• Ribes vilmorinii Jancz.
• Ribes villosum Wall. ex Roxb.
• Ribes viscosissimum Pursh - Sticky Currant
• Ribes viscosum Ruiz & Pav.
• Ribes vitifolium Host
• Ribes vulgare Lam.
• Ribes warszewiczii Jancz. - Downy Currant
• Ribes watkinsii Eastw.
• Ribes watsonianum Koehne - Spring Gooseberry
• Ribes weberbaueri Jancz.
• Ribes weddellianum Jancz.
• Ribes wolfii Rothr. - Wolf's Currant
• Ribes xizangense L.T.Lu

Read about Ribes in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
{{{1}}} The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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