Ribes spicatum and Ribes sativum are treated as a distinct species in some works, whilst others reduce them to synonymy with Ribes rubrum. They are treated here as distinct[].

Common Name: Red Currant

General Information

Ribes rubrum is an unarmed, spreading, deciduous shrub; it usually grows 100 - 150cm tall but can reach 300cm[, , ].
Red currants are often cultivated for their edible fruit in the temperate zone, especially in northern Europe and Asia. They are grown both commercially and on a garden scale. The plant also has a range of medicinal uses.

Known Hazards

The fresh leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide, though details of quantities are not given[]. This substance is found in several foods, including almonds. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Western Europe - UK, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany

Habitat

Damp soils in hedges and woods, avoiding acid soils[, , ]. Mesic habitats in disturbed woods, thickets, roadsides, old homesteads, garden neighborhoods, tamarack swamps[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Bees, Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Ribes rubrum 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, even succeeding on a north-facing wall[], though they do not fruit so well in such a position[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 to 6[].
Red currants are often cultivated for their edible fruit in the temperate zone, both commercially and on a garden scale -there are some named varieties, including forms with white fruits[, ].
Most cultivars are self-fertile and set a good crop on their own[].
The fruit is produced at the base of one-year old and older wood, plants start to fruit at 3 - 4 years from seed[].
Well tended plants can bear good crops for 20 - 25 years, though the best crops are produced in the first 10 years[].
Probably domesticated in the Middle Ages in the region of present-day Belgium, where valuable forms were selected from wild stock. The plant was first reported from Germany in the last years of 17th cent. Since then forms with yellow ("white") as well as with red fruits have been developed[].
Most modern cultivars were selected from crosses with Ribes spicatum Robs., Ribes multiflorum Kit. And Ribes petraeum Wulfen. In addition Ribes atropurpureum C.A. Mey. And Ribes hispidulum (Jancz.) Pojark., which in the 1930's and 1940's were tested as candidates for cultivation, but were finally only used for breeding[].
Cultivated red currants may have originated from a cross between Ribes rubrum and Ribes spicatum E. Robson, a rare species that is native in northern Britain[].
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 pleasant acid flavour, it can be eaten out of hand but is more often cooked in pies, jams etc[]. The berries are eaten raw and more often they are processed for juices, jam, jellies and desserts (often mixed with other fruits) to develop the fine aromatic taste[]. The bright red, globose berries are 6 - 11mm in diameter[, ]. There are rather a lot of seeds in each fruit[].

Medicinal

The fruit is antiscorbutic, aperient, depurative, digestive, diuretic, laxative, refrigerant and sialagogue[, , ].
The leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide[].
A concoction of the leaves is used externally to relieve rheumatic symptoms[]. They are also used in poultices to relieve sprains or reduce the pain of dislocations[].

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves[].
A black dye is obtained from the fruit[].
The red pigment of the berries dyes linen yellow[].

The fruit is used cosmetically in face-masks for firming up tired and lifeless skin[].

The seeds contain 16 - 18% of a fatty oil[].

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[, ].