[Gooseberries and Currants: The Genus Ribes in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant

Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum

Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum

Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum) - Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum)

Red-flowering currant observed in bloom along the Pacific Crest Trail adjacent to Hobart Bluff, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument......May 28, 2021.

Characteristics:

The red-flowering currant is an attractive erect, upland deciduous shrub from 1-3 meters high. The branches are reddish brown and covered with fine hairs. The leaves alternate on the branches and are palmately-veined. The blade has 3-5 rounded lobes, and the margins are double-toothed. The blades measure 3-9 cm across and are usually wider than long. The base of the leaf is cordate and the surface of the leaves is deeply wrinkled.

The arching or drooping racemes are 10-25 flowered. Individual flowers are about 9-15 mm long and a bright pink or red in color. The calyx is tubular-cylindrical and red, with 5 spreading sepals.. The 5 petals are each spatulate or wedge-shaped and may be red or white and on the same axis as the tube. The fruit is blue-black in color with a white bloom.


Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum) - Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum) - Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum)

Red-flowering currant in bloom at left atop Monte Cristo, Monte Cristo Natural Area Preserve.....June 21, 2022. The photo at center shows red-flowering currant in bloom at the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.....April 14, 2023. The photo at right shows red-flowering currant blooming along the Surveyor's Ridge Trail #688 about 2 miles northwest of the Gibson Prarie Horse Camp, Mount Hood National Forest.....June 11, 2024.

Uses:

The berries are edible dried or raw, and they may be used in jams or wine.

It is host to white pine rust, a fungal disease which may kill many pines. Many red-flowering currants have been eliminated for this reason.

The leaves are browsed by many herbivores and the berries are consumed by many small mammals or birds. The flower may attract early season hummingbirds looking for nectar.


Habitat:

Red-flowering currant is found in dry, open woods near wetlands. It is generally shade-intolerant.


Range:

Red-flowering currant may be found from British Columbia south to the Coast Range of California south of San Francisco. It is found from the east slope of the Cascades westward to the coast in Washington and Oregon, but only west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the south.

On Mt. Adams, red-flowering currant has been found below 3000' on the east side of the mountain along the Mt. Adams Highway into the Yakama Reservation.


Inflorescence and emerging leaves of Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum) - Inflorescence of Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum)

Red-flowering currant as seen along the Mt. Adams Highway..........May 6, 2006.

Dorsal leaf surface of Blood Currant, Red Currant, Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum (Synonyms: Ribes sanguineum var. deductum, Ribes sanguineum var. melanocarpum) Ventral leaf surface of Redflower Currant, Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum var. sanguineum


Paul Slichter