Herb: Flowering Currant


Latin name: Ribes sanguineum


Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)



Edible parts of Flowering Currant:

Fruit - raw or cooked. It does not have a wonderful flavour, but is tolerable raw. It can be harvested when still firm in August and when stored carefully will keep until November, by which time the flavour has improved slightly. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
2.5 m
(8 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
April
to May

Habitat of the herb:

Open to wooded, moist to rather dry valleys and foothills.

Other uses of Flowering Currant:

Tolerates maritime exposure and can be grown as an informal hedge. It provides reasonable shelter when in leaf but is rather bare and gives little protection in winter.

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 Flowering Currant:

Open to wooded, moist to rather dry valleys and foothills.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Ribes sanguineum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.