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Black currant (Ribes hudsonianum)

Description

The Ribes nigrum (commonly known as black currant , sometimes cassis ) is a plant of the family of Grossulariaceae .It is a shrub from the mountainous areas of Eurasia, up to 2 meters high with deciduous foliage and branches. The bark is smooth, from clear to reddish in the young stems, while it becomes dark in the old stems. The leaves are large, flat, petiolate, with three to five lobes, acute apex and toothed margin. The lower page, covered by a light tomentum, is rich in yellowish glands from which it emits a characteristic odor. The flowers appear in spring, collected in hanging racemes, they are pentamers, of a whitish-green color, not very showy. The fruits, of the globose black berries full of seeds with the apex of the flower, appear in August-September. It differs a lot from the red currant for the color, aroma and taste and destination of the fruit. The leaves, the buds and the fruits are intensely perfumed by the presence of glands containing essential oils.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum: Magnoliophyta

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Saxifragales

            • Family: Grossulariaceae

              • Genus: Ribes