Common Name:

General Information

Ribes orientale is an unarmed, deciduous shrub; it usually grows 50 - 200cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It has potential for use as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Southeast Europe - Greece; Asia - Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, N. India, Nepal, southwest China

Habitat

Stony slopes and rocks; at elevations up to 4,000 metres in the Himalayas[]. Forests, forest margins, rock crevices, roadsides; at elevations from 2,100 - 4,900 metres in China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	1.80 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Ribes orientale 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[].
This species is closely allied to Ribes alpinum[].
The young shoots and leaf-stalks are covered with stiff, gland-tipped sticky hairs[].
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[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The fruits are unpleasant to the taste, inedible when raw, but they can be used for the preparation of fruit drinks and fruit wine[]. The red to purple, globose fruit is 7 - 9mm in diameter[]. Some caution is advised, since another report says that the fruits are used as a purgative[].

Medicinal

The berries are purgative[].

Other Uses

None known

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 between 0 and 5°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[, ].