- Related Topics:
- Black currant
- golden currant
- red currant
- buffalo currant
- alpine currant
- On the Web:
- Purdue University Cooperative - College of Agriculture - Currants and Gooseberries (Oct. 25, 2026)
Currant
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What is a currant shrub?
A currant is any of several flowering shrubs in the genus Ribes, bearing edible berries. These shrubs are native to the temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and western South America. Currant plants are typically erect or spreading shrubs composed of short and long stems, which may be hairy or glandular and lack spines.
The leaves range from roundish to nearly triangular, with palmate venation. Currant flowers are usually clustered and vary in color, from greenish to white, yellow, pink, red, or purple. The fruits are true berries.
The common red currant (Ribes rubrum) and black currant (R. nigrum) are the most economically important types and are used in making tarts, pies, jams, and jellies. Currants are high in vitamin C and supply calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
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What do currant shrubs look like?
Currant plants are shrubs that grow upright and spread. They have short and long stems, and they may be hairy or glandular, but without spines. The leaves range in shape from roundish to nearly triangular, with palmate venation, where veins radiate from a point near the leafstalk. Currant flowers are usually clustered and come in colors ranging from greenish to white, yellow, pink, red, or purple. The fruits of currant plants are true berries.
Black currant plants are aromatic shrubs without spines. Their hairy gland-studded leaves range in shape from roundish to nearly triangular.
Currants are commonly used in jams and jellies, eaten fresh, or dried.
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Where do currant shrubs commonly grow?
Currant shrubs are native to the temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and western South America; the Rocky Mountains of North America have a high concentration of species. Currants seem to have been first grown before 1600 in the Netherlands, Denmark, and near the Baltic Sea. They were then taken to American settlements in the early 17th century.
Currants thrive in cool, moist, northern climates with clay and silt soils. They can be planted under grapes, peaches, cherries, and pears because they stand shade very well. However, in some areas, growing currants is prohibited because they can spread white-pine blister rust.
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What kinds of fruit do currant shrubs produce?
Currant shrubs of the genus Ribes produce juicy berries that can be eaten fresh, dried, or used in jams and jellies. The most economically important species are the red currant (Ribes rubrum) and the black currant (R. nigrum). Other currant species grown for their fruits include the buffalo currant (R. odoratum) and the downy, or Nordic, currant (R. spicatum). Black currants have a powerful and fragrant aroma and a sharp juice. They are very high in vitamin C.
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How are currant shrubs used by people?
Currant shrubs of the genus Ribes are used in a variety of ways. The berries are consumed fresh, dried, or used in jams, jellies, pies, and tarts. Black currants are also used to add flavor to lozenges and are sometimes fermented. In professional cooking, they can add flavor to sauces or can be mixed with ice cream and sorbets.
Several species, such as alpine, buffalo, and Catalina currants, are also grown as garden ornamentals. Currants are high in vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. They flourish in cool, moist climates and are propagated through cuttings.
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What is the difference between currant shrubs and similar plants like gooseberries?
Currant shrubs and gooseberries both belong to the genus Ribes, but they have distinct characteristics. Currant shrubs generally lack spines, while gooseberry bushes are spiny. Currant flowers are usually clustered, whereas gooseberry flowers are often solitary or in small clusters.
Both thrive in cool, moist climates and are propagated through cuttings. Currants were first cultivated around the Baltic Sea before 1600 and later introduced to America. They can be planted under other fruit trees due to their shade tolerance. Both currants and gooseberries can host white-pine blister rust, which has led to cultivation prohibitions in certain areas to protect white pines.
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Currant, any of a number of flowering shrubs of the genus Ribes (family Grossulariaceae) and their edible fruits. The piquant juicy berries are used chiefly in jams and jellies and can be eaten fresh or dried. Several species are grown as garden ornamentals. Currants are natives of temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and of western South America; the Rocky Mountains of North America are especially rich in species. See also gooseberry.
Physical description
Currant plants are erect or spreading shrubs. They generally are composed of short stems and long stems and may be hairy or glandular and lack spines. The leaves range in shape from roundish to nearly triangular and have palmate venation (their veins radiate from a common point near the leafstalk). The flowers generally are clustered and range in colour from greenish to white, yellow, pink, red, or purple. The fruits are true berries.
Major species and uses
There are a number of currant species that are grown commercially and by home gardeners for their berries. The common, or garden or red, currant (Ribes rubrum) and black currant (R. nigrum) are the most economically important. Both red and black currants are used for making tarts, pies, jams, and jellies. Black currants are used in lozenges and for flavouring and are occasionally fermented. Other species grown for their fruits include the buffalo currant (R. odoratum) and downy, or Nordic, currant (R. spicatum). Currants are extremely high in vitamin C and also supply calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
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Species of ornamental value include the alpine currant (R. alpinum); buffalo currant; golden, or clove, currant (R. aureum), bearing spicy-fragrant yellow flowers; and Catalina currant (R. viburnifolium), a sprawling evergreen.
Cultivation and disease
The currant seems first to have been cultivated sometime before 1600 in the Netherlands, Denmark, and elsewhere around the Baltic Sea. Bushes were taken to settlements in America early in the 17th century; most American varieties, however, originated there. Currants flourish in cool, moist, northern climates. Clay and silt soils are best. They are propagated by cuttings 20–30 cm (8–12 inches) long, usually taken in the autumn and set in the nursery immediately or in the spring, 7.5 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) apart, with not more than two buds aboveground. In the plantation, they are set 1.2–1.5 metres (4–5 feet) apart in rows. Under intensive cropping, currants are planted under grapes, peaches, cherries, and pears because they stand shade very well.
Currants and gooseberries are hosts in the spread of white-pine blister rust, a destructive disease of the five-leaved pines in Europe and America. Because the white pine is a very valuable timber tree, the black currant has been declared a menace and is not grown in parts of the northwestern United States; culture of currants and gooseberries has been prohibited in some areas.