Ribes bracteosum


Ribes bracteosum, the stink currant, is a species of currant native to western coastal North America.
R. bracteosum is a deciduous shrub, without thorns, growing to tall. The leaves are across, palmately lobed with 5 or 7 lobes. The flowers are produced in spring after the leaves emerge, on racemes long containing 20–40 flowers; each flower is in diameter, with five white or greenish-tinged petals. The fruit, born in clusters, is dark blue with a whitish bloom.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western coastal North America from southeastern Alaska to Mendocino County in California. Its habitats include stream banks, moist woods, shorelines and thickets.

Uses

The fruit is edible but sometimes unpleasant.