Common Name: Dikusha Currant

General Information

Ribes dikuscha is a deciduous shrub with erect stems; it can grow around 100cm tall[, ].
A popular wild fruit, the plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - eastern Siberia, Russian Far East

Habitat

River islands, river alluvium and stony banks, riverain deciduous forest strips, including their edges; often in small thickets[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Species in this genus are generally easy to grow, preferring a position in sun (where they fruit best) or moderate shade and succeeding in most moist but well-drained soils of at least moderate fertility[].
The plant fruits abundantly in the wild[].
Capable of hybridization with other species of the same genus; there are reports of natural hybrids with Ribes procumbens[].
White pine blister rust, caused by the pathogen Cronartium ribicola, is a fungal disease that is native to Asia but has spread via human activity to many other regions, where it has become more virulent. It has a complex life-cycle that requires both currants (Ribes species) and white pines (Pinus species of the section Strobus) for the disease to spread. Whilst Ribes species can generally live with the disease (it has an annual life-cycle and infects the leaves only) Pinus species can be devastated by it (it becomes perennial and spreads through the tree). Young pines are far more susceptible than mature trees. In America the growing of certain Ribes species is banned in some areas in order to protect plantations of white pine species.
Plants in this genus tend to be notably susceptible to honey fungus[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The berries lack the strong, distinctive flavour of many other Ribes species, they taste more like a bilberry[]. The blue-black fruit has a waxy bloom, it is around 13mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The plant is used in breeding programmes, where it is hoped to impart its large fruit and heavy cropping into other, more strongly flavoured species[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 0 - 9°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[, ]. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, late autumn to late winter in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[, ].