The Uncommonly Common Currant
Native plants fascinate us with their resilience and beauty. Dive into the native shrub Ribes sanguineum with plant nerd Jerad Bryant. Discover what it means for a plant to have bisexual flowers.
Ribes sanguineum blooms in early spring.
The sun is out and I feel spring sprouting in every corner. On a recent walk by the Willamette River, a hummingbird buzzes into action on a pink flower. I haven’t seen a hummingbird in months, and this first sighting feels special. The flower my friend visits is growing out of a common currant shrub, known scientifically as Ribes sanguineum.
Both birds and humans love this graceful native plant for its gorgeous blooms, upright stature, and blue-black swelling berries. A Pacific Northwest native, it grows from British Columbia to Northern California in coastal zones.
Not only is R. sanguineum gorgeous, but it is also incredibly hardy in the landscape. It naturally grows on rocky slopes, dry forestland, and disturbed sites. I have seen it growing in locales with direct sun and no extra irrigation! It grows in gardens with full sun and low water, with well-draining soil. While it establishes itself it needs some additional water.
This native behaves well in the garden with other drought-tolerant full-sun species. It invites local wildlife like birds, bees, and other pollinators into the surrounding habitat. Mix this shrub with a wealth of other nectar and fruit-providing species and your garden will overflow with life.
History
Ribes sanguineum foliage looks like maple leaves.
The genus Ribes is home to both currants and gooseberries, and it contains many valuable native species for areas throughout North America. People from the Coast Salish groups would sometimes eat the berries, but they did not highly favor them. Other native plants like Amelanchier alnifolia “saskatoon” grow better-tasting fruits that these groups preferred.
David Douglas, the famous plant collector, sent this species to Kew in London in the early 19th century. Collectors and cultivators at Kew then spread this shrub across Europe. From gardens the common currant proliferated to natural areas, becoming a part of many ecosystems outside of its native range.
How to Identify
Currants and gooseberries both reside in the Ribes genus. Shrubs that have stems with prickles are gooseberries, and those without them are currants.
Ribes sanguineum grows stems without thorns, and sprouts alternate leaves that resemble maple leaves. With favorable conditions, this plant grows to twelve feet tall! It has an equal spread of between five and twelve feet, with multiple stems growing from its base.
Common currant sprouts flower clusters in early spring, and these give way to black-blue berries in the fall. Berries are no longer than 1 centimeter across and are bland and unpalatable. They make a delicious currant jelly with extra sugar.
Bisexual Flowers
So far on Mean Green Garden, we’ve covered monoecious flowers with Alnus and Corylus, and dioecious flowers with Oemleria. The common currant is different than both of these reproductive mechanisms and has bisexual flowers. Also known as perfect or hermaphrodite plants, they contain male and female reproductive organs together on the same flower.
Bisexual flowers allow the plants to self-fertilize their flowers and produce fruit without the presence of another pollinator plant. They can also be fertilized with pollen from other plants in the area. The common currant fertilizes its flowers with pollen from itself and from other shrubs, depending on how many of them are in the area.
Ribes sanguineum blooms in clusters, and each flower has two stigmas.
These native flowers hang down in clusters. They grow an outside ring of pink petals and an inside ring of white petals. Inside the white petals are 5 stamens and 2 pistils. When a bird, bee, or gust of wind knocks pollen from the stamens’ anthers onto the pistils’ stigmas, fertilization ensues.
The pollen travels down from the stigma down the style and into the ovary, where it fertilizes ovules. Ovules develop into seeds, and they make the next generation of currants. Bisexual flowers are an evolutionary advantage, and they allow Ribes sanguineum to succeed successfully where other species may suffer.
Fun Varietals
Breeders and plant nerds breed new varieties of plants every year. The common currant is no stranger to variation, and a few notable varieties exist for the garden. For deep red flowers look to a variety like ‘Kind Edward VII,’ and for pink flowers find ‘Spring Showers.’ White flowering cultivars exist too, with both ‘Album’ and ‘White Icicle’ standing out as well-performing varieties.
Final Thoughts
When you plant native, you help the life around you thrive. Ribes sanguineum is a fantastic choice as a garden specimen, and it is also a beautiful shrub in natural areas. Find one today and enjoy its blooms, or wait until the fall and discover its bulging fruits.
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