Ribes laxiflorum

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Saxifragales

Familia: Grossulariaceae
Genus: Ribes
Subgenus: Ribes subg. Ribes
Sectio: Ribes sect. Heritiera
Species: Ribes laxiflorum
Name

Ribes laxiflorum Pursh, 1813-1814
Homonyms

Ribes laxiflorum Richardson = Ribes hudsonianum Richardson

Synonyms

Ribes affine Douglas ex Bong., Mem. Acad. Petersb. 2: 138 (1833)
Ribes coloradense Coville, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 14: 3 (1901)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Alaska; USA (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington State); Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Pursh, F.T. 1813 "1814". Flora Americae Septentrionalis, or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America. Vol. 2. pp. 359–751, London: White, Cochrance, and co. BHL Reference page. : 2:731.

Additional references

Ackerfield, J. (2015). Flora of Colorado: 1-818. BRIT Press.
Allred, K.W. (2012). Flora Neomexicana, ed. 2, 1: 1-599. Range Science Herbarium, Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2009). Flora of North America North of Mexico 8: 1-585. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Ribes laxiflorum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Sep 26. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. Sep 26. Ribes laxiflorum. Published online. Accessed: {{{3}}} Sep 26.
Tropicos.org 2021. Ribes laxiflorum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 26 Sep 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Ribes laxiflorum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Sep 26. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Ribes laxiflorum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2021 Sep 26.

Vernacular names

Ribes laxiflorum is a species of currant known by the common names trailing black currant, and spreading currant.[1] It is native to western North America from Alaska and Yukon south as far as northern California and New Mexico;[2] it has also been found in Siberia. Its habitat includes moist mountain forests, open clearings, streambanks, and the borders of mountain roads.

Description

Ribes laxiflorum is a spreading, trailing shrub usually growing one half to one meter (20–40 inches) in height. It has been known to take a somewhat vine-like form in appropriate shady habitat with nearby supports, climbing to seven meters (23 feet) in length.[3] It has fuzzy, glandular stems lacking spines and prickles. The hairy, glandular, maple-shaped leaves are up to 10 centimeters long and deeply divided into several pointed lobes lined with dull teeth. The inflorescence is a mostly erect raceme of up to eight flowers. The distinctive flower has five greenish, purplish, or red sepals which are often curved back at the tips. At the center is a corolla of five red or pink petals each measuring a millimeter long, narrow at the base and wider or club-shaped at the tip. Inside the corolla are five red stamens tipped with whitish anthers. The fruit is a purple-black berry measuring four to fourteen millimeters wide which is waxy, hairy, or bristly in texture.[3]
Uses

The berries are eaten locally (variously fresh, boiled, or as preserves) by Bella Coola, Haisla, Hanaksiala, Hesquiat, Kwakiutl, Lummi, Makah, Oweekeno, Skagit, and Tanana peoples.[4]

Other traditions use R. laxiflorum for: an infusion to make an eyewash (roots and or branches, by the Bella Coolah).[4]

Decoctions of: bark to remedy tuberculosis (with the roots, by the Skokomish); or for the common cold (Skagit): leaves and twigs, as a general tonic (Lummi).[4]

Woody stems are fashioned into pipe stems (Hesquiat).[4]
References

Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America 2:731. 1813–1814 "Ribes laxiflorum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved July 20, 2010.
Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map
Flora of North America, Ribes laxiflorum Pursh, 1813. Trailing black or spreading currant
Dan Moerman. "Search for Ribes laxiflorum". Native American Ethnobotany Database. Dearborn, Michigan: University of Michigan. Retrieved July 20, 2010.