Herb: Redcurrant


Latin name: Ribes sativum


Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)



Edible parts of Redcurrant:

Fruit - raw or cooked in jams, compotes, jellies, puddings, pies etc. An acid taste that many people find too strong to eat raw, the fruit makes an excellent jam or preserves. The fruit is rich in vitamin C. There are rather a lot of seeds in each fruit.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Habitat of the herb:

Hedges and woods, avoiding acid soils.

Propagation of Redcurrant:

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 the herb:

Hedges and woods, avoiding acid soils.

Medicinal use of Redcurrant:

None known

Known hazards of Ribes sativum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.