medicinal herbs
White-Flowered Currant
Ribes laxiflorum

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb: White-Flowered Currant

Latin name: Ribes laxiflorum

Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)

Medicinal use of White-Flowered Currant:

A decoction or infusion of the root or branches can be used each day as an eyewash to remove foreign matter from the eyes. A decoction of the leaves and twigs has been used as a general tonic. A decoction of the bark has been used in the treatment of colds. A decoction of the bark and roots has been used as a treatment for tuberculosis.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

A spreading or decumbent plant, clambering over logs and stumps in moist places in California.

Edible parts of White-Flowered Currant:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Palatable, but not very juicy. The fruit can be dried and stored for later use or made into jelly. The fruit can be up to 10mm long, though it is usually smaller, it is borne in small racemes.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at between 0 and 5°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 White-Flowered Currant:

A spreading or decumbent plant, clambering over logs and stumps in moist places in California.

Known hazards of Ribes laxiflorum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.