Ribes glandulosum

Ribes glandulosum, the skunk currant,[2] is a North American species of flowering plant in the currant family. It is widespread in Canada (all 10 provinces and all 3 territories) and is also found in parts of the United States (Alaska, the Great Lakes region, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Northeast).[3][4]

Ribes glandulosum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Grossulariaceae
Genus: Ribes
Species:
R. glandulosum
Binomial name
Ribes glandulosum
Grauer 1784 not Ruiz & Pav. 1802[1]

Ribes glandulosum is a deciduous shrub growing to 0.5 m (2 ft) tall and wide. It has palmately lobed leaves with 5 or 7 deeply cut segments. Flowers are in elongated clusters of 6–15 pink flowers. Fruits are red and egg-shaped, sometimes palatable but sometimes not.[5][6][2]

Conservation status in the United States

It is listed as endangered in Connecticut and New Jersey, and presumed extirpated in Ohio.[7]

As a noxious weed

It is considered a noxious weed in Michigan, and planting it is prohibited in certain parts of the state.[8]

Ethnobotany

The Ojibwa people take a compound decoction of the root for back pain and for "female weakness".[9] The Woods Cree use a decoction of the stem, either by itself or mixed with wild red raspberry, to prevent clotting after birth, eat the berries as food, and use the stem to make a bitter tea.[10] The Algonquin people use the berries as food.[11]

References
  1. The International Plant Names Index
  2. Flora of North America, Ribes glandulosum Grauer, 1784. Skunk currant, gadellier glanduleux
  3. Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. United States Department of Agriculture plants profile
  6. Plants for a Future
  7. "Plants Profile for Ribes glandulosum (skunk currant)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  8. "Plants Profile for Ribes glandulosum (skunk currant)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  9. Densmore, Frances 1928 Uses of Plants by the Chippewa Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #44:273–379 (p. 356)
  10. Leighton, Anna L. 1985 Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan. Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series (p. 54)
  11. Black, Meredith Jean 1980 Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec. Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65 (p. 88)


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