Ribes
currant, gooseberry
21 species
8 subspecies and varieties
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Ribes acerifoliummaple-leaf currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon, east to Idaho.
Habitat: Stream banks, meadowland thickets, open ridges and rock slides, from middle elevations in the mountains to timberline.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes aureumgolden currant
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert where seasonally moist to ponderosa pine forest openings at middle elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. aureum – golden currant
Ribes bracteosumCalifornia black currant, stink currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California.
Habitat: Moist to wet woods, from low to middle elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes cereumwax currant
Distribution: Widespread east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains.
Habitat: Shrub-steppe and sagebrush desert to sub-alpine ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. cereum – wax currant
var. colubrinum – wax currant
Ribes divaricatumcoast black gooseberry, straggly gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and along the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Moist hillsides, prairies and open woods at low elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. divaricatum – coast black gooseberry
Ribes hudsonianumHudson Bay currant, northern black currant, western black currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Canadian Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and eastern Canada.
Habitat: Stream banks, moist woods and meadow margins at middle elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes inermewhitestem gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Moist forest edges and openings in the mountains, riparian corridors at lower elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. inerme – whitestem gooseberry
Ribes lacustreswamp currant, bristly black gooseberry, swamp gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring in forested and mountainous areas on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and eastern North America.
Habitat: Moist forests and stream banks to forestd slopes and subalpine ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes laxiflorumtrailing black currant
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Coastal woodlands to montane slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes lobbiigummy gooseberry, Lobb's gooseberry, Oregon gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Lowland valleys to open forests at moderate elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes montigenumalpine prickly currant, mountain gooseberry, western prickly gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Subalpine to alpine ridges, talus slopes and rock crevices.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes nigrumcultivated black currant
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in eastern Washington; eastern Washington to adjacent Oregon and Idaho; more common in northeastern North America.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas, where escaping from cultivation.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: March-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes niveumSnake River gooseberry, snow gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; Washington to Oregon and Nevada, east to Idaho and Colorado.
Habitat: Usually in thickets along streams, but somedtimes on open hllsides.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes oxyacanthoidesCanada gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Atlantic Coast in the northern half of North America.
Habitat: Prairies and lower mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. cognatum – northern gooseberry, umatilla gooseberry, Umatilla gooseberry
var. irriguum – Idaho gooseberry
Ribes rubrumnorthern red currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in the eastern counties of Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, also from the Great Lakes region east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Thickets, roadsides, forest edge, and other disturbed areas at low elevation.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes sanguineumblood currant, red currant, red flowering currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Open to wooded, moist to dry valleys and lower mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: February-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
var. sanguineum – blood currant, red currant, red flowering currant
Ribes tristeAmerican red currant, swamp red currant, wild red currant
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the northern Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America.
Habitat: Moist woods and rocky slopes at middle to high elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes velutinumdesert gooseberry, Goodding's gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; Washington to California, east to Montana, Utah, and Arizona.
Habitat: Open areas in sagebrush-steppe and Ponderosa pine forests.
Origin: Native
Flowers: March-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes viscosissimumHall's sticky currant, mountain currant
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Open to forested, moist to fairly dry slopes, from middle to high elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes watsonianumMount Adams gooseberry, spring gooseberry, wastson gooseberry
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Alberta.
Habitat: Forest openings in canyons and on ridges, mid-elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
Ribes wolfiiWinaha currant, Wolf's currant
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in the southeastern counties in Washington; southeastern Washington to adjacent Oregon and Idaho, south and east to the southern Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Moist forests and meadows, montane to subalpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial