Close-up of the flowers of Ribes acerifolium
Ribes acerifolium (syn. Ribes howellii), also known as Howell’s gooseberry, maple-leaved currant, maple-leaf currant, and maple-leaved blackcurrant, is a deciduous perennial shrub native from southern British Columbia to Oregon and eastward to Idaho in the USA. Habitats include moist meadows, open ridges, rocky slopes, and streambanks at elevations from about 990m (3250 ft.) upwards to the timberline. Maple-leaved currant has an upright to spreading habit, with a tendency to form thickets. It has silvery-grey to brown bark and grows up to 1m (~3 ft.) tall.
The leaves are very similar in shape to typical maple leaves (Acer spp.), in that they are palmately lobed with crenate-serrate margins. Each leaf is slightly wider than it is long and has five lobes altogether (three large and two small). The clefts between the lobes are quite deep, reaching nearly halfway to the midrib. The tops of the leaves are smooth and dark green, while the undersides are lighter with fine hairs on the veins and often a few scattered resin dots. The leaves are alternately arranged on pubescent reddish-grey twigs, with petioles as long as the leaf blades.
From June to August, flowers are borne in pendant racemes with the pedicels connected below the ovaries. Each 3-5cm (~1-2 in.) long raceme carries seven to fifteen pink to burgundy blossoms; every blossom has five obovate petals, five stamens, and five calyx lobes that curve away from the flower. By midsummer, the racemes are replaced with clusters of ripe black berries, each 6-10mm (to 0.4 in.) across. These globular berries are slightly glandular; according to the Flora of North America account for Ribes acerifolium, their palatability is unknown.
What a lovely flower and plant.
I’ve grown a couple of domestic gooseberries and a clove currant in my little back yard, and I’m a huge fan of these charming (and sometimes very spiny) plants and their sweet/tart fruit.
It’d be very interesting to know more about the palatability of the fruit. I would bet that, at the very least, it’s a good resource for wildlife.
Thanks again, as always, for an interesting article and gorgeous photo.
I love all currants but can’t get them to survive in Missouri 🙁
Susanne- have you tried the native Ribes missouriense (Missouri gooseberry)? USDA PLANTS shows it throughout Missouri. Ribes cynosbati (eastern prickly gooseberry) and R. aureum (golden currant) also are native in a few counties in MO.
Here in Albuquerque NM, R. aureum is used a lot in landscaping and environmental restoration. We’re currently having a bumper crop! And they are delicious, although somewhat time consuming to pick.