Northern Ontario Plant Database

Plant Description

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The Genus Ribes

Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)

The Gooseberry Family is now recognized as a distinct family, but in the past, it has been placed within the Saxifrage Family (Saxifragaceae). Gooseberries and currants are both members of the genus Ribes, but some authors have separated gooseberries as the genus Grossularia. This division has not been widely accepted by North American botanists.

Ribes is a genus of low, deciduous shrubs with alternate, palmately-lobed leaves. Some species have 1-3 spines at the nodes (stipular spines), while others have many bristles covering the length of the stem; two local species have both spines and bristles. Some species have tiny yellow resin dots on the lower and/or upper leaf surface, while most lack resin dots on their leaves.

Although placed in the same genus, currants and gooseberries are easily differentiated from each other by the number and position of the flowers on the stem. Currants have several flowers borne in an erect or drooping raceme, while gooseberries have 1 to 3 flowers borne in the axil of a leaf. Also, currants have jointed pedicels that allow fruits to dehisce individually from the fruiting axis, a feature lacking in gooseberries.

All of our gooseberry species, Ribes hirtellum (wild gooseberry), R. oxyacanthoides (bristly wild gooseberry), and R. cynosbati (prickly gooseberry), have greenish-yellow flowers that are elongate and tubular or bell-shaped. Currants have two basic types of flowers, bell-shaped flowers are found in Ribes americanum (wild black currant) and R. hudsonianum (Hudson Bay currant). In these, the hypanthium is slightly tubular and the calyx lobes are often reflexed or curled backward. The remaining currants in northern Ontario, R. glandulosum (skunk currant), R. triste (swamp red currant), and R. lacustre (prickly black currant), have flowers with an open, saucer-shaped hypanthium. The 5 calyx lobes of both flower types are petaloid and larger than the tiny petals, which are attached to (inserted on) the rim of the hypanthium. Stamens are 5, also inserted on the hypanthium rim, but opposite the calyx lobes. The ovary is inferior and bears 2 styles. The fruit is a fleshy, several-seeded berry (inferior berry) that bears at its tip the dried, persistent remains of the corolla. Only some species have edible berries. Although most wild currant species have berries that are not palatable or have a disagreeable taste, they are not poisonous.

Go to Ribes key for northern Ontario species.

Go to Ribes comparison chart for northern Ontario species.


Key to the Currant and Gooseberry (Ribes) species of Northern Ontario

1a.	Flowers borne in several-flowered racemes (currants).		go to 2
1b.	Flowers solitary or in 2-3 flowered axillary clusters (gooseberries).		go to 6
	2a.	Stems very bristly and bearing spines at the nodes.
	Ribes lacustre (bristly black currant)
	2b.	Stems smooth to glandular hairy, but not bristly or spiny	go to 3
3a.	Racemes erect.		go to 4
3b.	Racemes drooping.		go to 5
	4a.	Leaves bearing tiny resin dots on lower surface only; flowers bell-shaped; fruits blue-black, smooth.
	Ribes hudsonianum (northern wild black currant)
	4b.	Leaves lacking resin dots, but emitting a skunky odour when bruised; flowers open saucer-shaped; fruits red, glandular-bristly.
	Ribes glandulosum (skunk currant)
5a.	Flowers yellow, bell shaped; mature fruits blackish, smooth; leaves bearing tiny resin dots on both surfaces.
Ribes americanum (wild black currant)
5b.	Flowers greenish to salmon-coloured; saucer-shaped; mature fruits red, smooth; leaves lacking resin dots.
Ribes triste (swamp red currant)
	6a.	Stems bristly and bearing stipular spines.
	Ribes oxyacanthoides (bristly wild gooseberry)
	6b.	Stems smooth except for 1-3 stipular spines.	go to 7
7a.	Ovaries and berries smooth, mature berries blackish.
Ribes hirtellum (wild gooseberry)
7b.	Ovaries and berries bristly; mature berries reddish-purple.
Ribes cynosbati (prickly gooseberry)

Comparison Chart of Ontario Ribes Species

Ribes Species	Stem armature	Resin dots on leaves	Racemes & flower shape	Fruit colour, surface
Flowers & fruits borne in racemes.
R. americanum (wild black currant)	stems smooth, without bristles along internodes	resin dots on both surfaces	racemes drooping, flowers bell-shaped, yellow	berries smooth, black, edible
R. hudsonianum (Hudson Bay currant)		resin dots on lower surface only; leaves with an unpleasant odour when bruised	racemes erect, flowers bell-shaped, whitish	berries smooth, blue-black, not palatable
R. glandulosum (skunk currant)		resin dots absent; leaves with a skunky odour when bruised	racemes erect, flowers saucer-shaped, whitish	berries glandular-hairy, red, not palatable
R. triste (swamp red currant)		resin dots absent	racemes drooping, flowers saucer-shaped, greenish to salmon-colour	berries smooth, red, edible but tart
R. lacustre (bristly black currant)	stems with bristles and 1-3 stipular spines		racemes drooping, flowers saucer-shaped, yellow-green to pinkish	berries glandular-hairy, purple-black, not palatable
Flowers and fruits solitary or few in leaf axils
R. cynosbati (prickly gooseberry)	stems smooth, except for 1-3 stipular spines	resin dots absent	flowers bell-shaped, greenish-yellow	berries prickly,green when young, turning reddish-purple, edible
R. hirtellum (wild gooseberry)				berries smooth,green when young, turning blue-black, edible
Ribes oxyacanthoides (bristly wild gooseberry)	stems with bristles and 1-3 stipular spines

Distribution of Ribes species in Ontario

Ribes Species [arranged northernmost to southernmost]	Region of Ontario
	Western	Northern [north of Lake Superior]	North-Central [Algoma to Nipissing]	South-Central and Southwest	Ottawa and Southeast
R. oxyacanthoides	yes	south to Wawa	no	no	no
R. hudsonianum	yes	yes	no	no	south-central
R. glandulosum	yes	yes	yes	yes	south-central
R. lacustre	yes	yes	yes	yes	south-central
R. triste	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
R. hirtellum	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
R. americanum	lower half	north to James Bay watershed	lower half	yes	yes
R. cynosbati	no	no	lower half	yes	yes

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