English: Nordic Currant.
Clades:
Grossulariaceae.
Region: Eurasia, Norway, Germany, UK, northern Eurasia, Kazakhstan, eastern Siberia, Mongolia.
Habitat: woods on limestone; thickets on poor dry mountain slopes, bare rocky mountain tops; very cold hardy, tolerating temperatures to -20°C; prefers moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil; quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position.
Use: fruit as food, raw or cooked.
BotanyShrub; unarmed; 100 to 200 cm tall.
Leaves: deciduous.
Pollination: by insects.
Fruit: red; globose; 7 to 9 mm in diameter.
TaxonomyRibes spicatum and Ribes sativum are very closely related to
Ribes rubrum.They are treated as a distinct species in some works, whilst others reduce them to synonymy with
Ribes rubrum.