Ribes acerifolium Howell
maple-leaved currant (mapleleaf currant; maple-leaved blackcurrant)
Grossulariaceae (Currant family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Virginia Skilton     (Photo ID #26249)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Ribes acerifolium
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Deciduous shrub, loosely branched, 0.5-1.1 m tall; stems erect to spreading, unarmed; bark brownish.
Leaves:
Alternate, mapleleaf-shaped, 2-7 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, 5-lobed, the lobes cleft almost half their length, finely hairy and usually with unstalked or shortly stalked glands; leaf stalks more or less equal to the blades in length, finely hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 7- to 15-flowered, drooping racemes; flower stalks jointed under the ovary and usually subtended by 1-3 small bracteoles at the tips; petals red, egg-shaped, 1-1.5 mm long, spreading with the sepals; hypanthium shallowly bowl-shaped, somewhat glandular, 1.2-1.5 mm long; calyces greenish, the lobes broadly oblong to egg-shaped, 2.5-3 mm long; styles glabrous, about equaling the stamens and petals.
Fruits:
Berries, round, black with a whitish bloom, up to 1 cm long, slightly hairy and sparsely glandular.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Ribes acerifolium

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1527 821 1840
Slope Gradient (%)
35 0 65

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

116 0 346
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 1 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
47
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BWBS(1), ESSF(41), MH(3), MS(2)

Habitat and Range

Moist meadows and streambanks in the montane to alpine zones; infrequent in extreme SW BC on the mainland and rare in SE BC; S to ID and OR.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ribes howellii Greene