Herb: Whisky Currant


Latin name: Ribes inebrians


Synonyms: Ribes cereum inebrians, Ribes cereum pedicellare


Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)



Medicinal use of Whisky Currant:

A poultice of the plant has been applied to sores.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
2 m
(6 1/2 foot)

Flowering:
May

Habitat of the herb:

Dry slopes to 3700 metres in California.

Edible parts of Whisky Currant:

Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit can also be dried for later use or made into preserves. One report says that although the fruit was eaten by the Hopi Indians, it could make you ill. Another report says that the fruit was highly relished. The fruit is about 5mm in diameter. Leaves - cooked.

Propagation of the herb:

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.

Cultivation of Whisky Currant:

Dry slopes to 3700 metres in California.

Known hazards of Ribes inebrians:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.