Ribes cereum
| Ribes cereum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 6' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ribes cereum (common name: wax currant)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between -2 to 0°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[1][2]. 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[3][1].
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[3][4].
Cultivation: Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[5][4]. Requires a sunny position[5].
Hardy to about -20°c[4].
A very ornamental and free-flowering plant[6].
Often cultivated for its edible fruit in N. America[7]. It is disease-resistant and is being used in modern blackcurrant breeding programmes[8].
Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees[9]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[4].
Related to R. viscosissimum[10].
Range: Western N. America.
Habitat: Canyons, dry ravines, hillsides, prairies and open woodland[7].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][11][12][13]. Not very nice, large quantities can cause nausea[14]. Reports on the quality of the fruit range from insipid and rubbery to highly esteemed as an article of diet[15]. The fruit can also be used to make pemmican, jellies, jams, sauces and pies[13]. Fruits can also be dried for later use[14].
Young leaves[13]. No more details are given.
Flowers - raw[13]. A sweet flavour[14].
Medicinal: An infusion of the inner bark has been used as a wash for sore eyes[15].
The fruit has been eaten in quantity as an emetic[15]. It has also been used to treat diarrhoea[15].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Roach, Frederick. Cultivated Fruits of Britain. Oxford University Press, 1985.
- ↑ Arnberger, Leslie. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments, 1968.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1978.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.