Common Name: Skunk Currant

General Information

Ribes glandulosum is a deciduous shrub with stems that can be reclining or sprawlng to more or less strongly ascending; the plant can grow 50 - 100cm tall[]. The stems often root where they touch the ground[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, and sometimes as a medicine. It is occasionally grown as an ornamental in gardens, where it can be used as a ground cover.
The species is widespread and while it is possibly declining in parts of its range, it is not thought that any global population decline is likely to meet (or be close to meeting) the threshold for Vulnerable. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

N. America - Alaska to Newfoundland, south to ritish Colombia, Minnesota, Tennessee and North Carolina

Habitat

Conifer and conifer-hardwood swamps, wet woods, spruce-fir forests, montane thickets, krummholz, seeps, boulder fields, clearings, roadsides; at elevations up to 2,100 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	0.40 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Ribes glandulosum is very cold hardy, when dormant it can tolerate temperatures falling to around -20°c[].
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[]. Prefers a cool moist position[].
Plants come into growth very early in the year[]. The branches are decumbent or spreading[].
The leaves have an unpleasant smell[]. The leaves have a skunk-like odour[].
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[, , , ]. A blackcurrant[], it is juicy and palatable[]. Another report says that it has the odour of a skunk[] and the skin has short bristly hairs[]. The dark red, ovoid fruit is about 6 - 8mm in diameter[, ].

The stems have been used to make a bitter tea[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the stems, sometimes with wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus strigosus), has been used to prevent the blood clotting after birth[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Can be used as a ground cover plant[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between 0 to 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, 10 - 15cm with a heel, 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[, ].
Division of layered branches.