Herb latin name: Ribes altissimum


Synonyms: Ribes petraeum altissimum


Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)



Edible parts of Ribes altissimum:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Small with a thick skin and a pleasant acid taste. The fruit is abundantly produced in the wild. The purplish-black fruit is about 7mm in diameter.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
3 m
(9 3/4 foot)

Flowering:
May

Habitat of the herb:

Taluses composed of large stones in the forest zone, often into the bald mountain zone. Coniferous or mixed forests and forest margins on mountain slopes below 2000 metres in N. China.

Propagation of Ribes altissimum:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 0 - 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, 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:

Taluses composed of large stones in the forest zone, often into the bald mountain zone. Coniferous or mixed forests and forest margins on mountain slopes below 2000 metres in N. China.

Medicinal use of Ribes altissimum:

None known

Known hazards of Ribes altissimum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.