Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Blackcurrant is a thornless shrub from Europe and northern Asia, famous for its tart, vitamin C–rich, nearly black berries. It isn't native to the US and is grown in gardens and on farms. For decades it was banned nationwide because it helps spread white pine blister rust, a disease that seriously harms white pines, and some states still restrict it.

Appearance

Growth form: A thornless deciduous shrub about 5 ft (1.5 m) tall and wide.
Leaves: Three- to five-lobed, coarsely toothed leaves with tiny yellowish glands underneath that give the whole plant a strong, distinctive smell.
Flowers: Small, dull-white, bell-shaped flowers hang in clusters of 10 to 20, called .
Fruit: Glossy, nearly black berries ripen in midsummer; a mature bush can yield about 10 lb (4.5 kg) a year.

Look-alikes

American black currantRibes americanum

American black currant grows wild in woods, bogs, and meadows across the northern US and turns red and gold in fall. European blackcurrant is usually a planted garden shrub. They're hard to tell apart from berries alone.

Why they get mixed upBoth are thornless shrubs with lobed leaves and round black berries.

Northern black currantRibes hudsonianum

Northern black currant holds its whitish flowers in upright spikes of up to 50, while blackcurrant's 10–20 flowers hang down. It grows wild along streams and in moist mountain woods of the West, Alaska, and the Great Lakes, and its berries taste bitter.

Why they get mixed upBoth are thornless, strong-smelling shrubs with yellow glands and black berries.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: gardens
farms
Range: Native to Europe and northern Asia. In the US it's a garden and farm plant, not a native species.
Preferred conditions: Prefers damp, fertile soil.

Growing it

Care: Breeders in Europe, New Zealand, and North America work on disease resistance, including varieties selected for immunity to blister rust.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Threats: Besides blister rust, mildews, gray mold, leaf spot, sawflies, and borers attack it. In Europe, the blackcurrant gall mite spreads reversion disease.

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: The federal ban on growing it began in 1911 and was handed to the states in 1966; a few states still restrict it.
In Britain most of the crop goes into Ribena and similar juices, and during World War II the government handed out free blackcurrant syrup to young children as a vitamin C source.
Crème de cassis, the liqueur in a kir, is made by soaking the berries in alcohol.
Distilled buds are used in perfume, and the seed oil goes into cosmetics.