Ribes glandulosum

Grauer.

Skunk Currant

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iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa

Description

Ribes glandulosum is a deciduous Shrub growing to 0.4 m (1ft 4in) by 1 m (3ft 3in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 2 and is not frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Edible Uses

Tea. Fruit - raw or cooked. A blackcurrant, it is juicy and palatable. Another report says that it has the odour of a skunk and the skin has short bristly hairs. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter. The stems have been used to make a bitter tea.

Medicinal Uses

MiscellanyA decoction of the stems, sometimes with wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus strigosus), has been used to prevent the blood clotting after birth.

Distribution

N. America - Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Where It Grows

NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada (Northwest Territories (west), Yukon, Québec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia), United States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan (north), New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Minnesota (north & central), Wisconsin, Maryland (west), North Carolina (west), Tennessee, Virginia (west))

Cultivation

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. Prefers a cool moist position. Hardy to about -20°c. Plants come into growth very early in the year. The branches are decumbent or spreading. Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. The leaves have an unpleasant smell.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between 0 to 9°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, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors.