Ribes inerme Rydb.
Currant (Northern Blackcurrant; whitestem gooseberry; white-stemmed gooseberry)
Grossulariaceae (Currant family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Reg Newman     (Photo ID #12228)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

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

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Ribes inerme var. inerme

Species Information

General:
Deciduous shrub, loosely branched, 1-2 m tall; stems erect, usually glabrous, unarmed except for a few, 4-10 mm long, nodal spines; bark greyish, flaky, red underneath.
Leaves:
Alternate, mostly egg-shaped, rounded to heart-shaped at the base, 2-8 cm wide, shallowly 3-5-lobed, also with a smaller, lower unequal lobe, glabrous or sometimes sparsely hairy, coarsely toothed; stalks about equal to or slightly longer than the blades, sparsely hairy and with a few stalked, glandular hairs.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1-4 flowers in a drooping raceme shorter than the leaves; flower stalks 3-7 mm long, not jointed below the flowers; petals white, 1-1.5 mm long, oblong or egg-shaped; hypanthium tubular bell-shaped, 2.5-3.5 mm long; calyces greenish-white, glabrous or hairy; styles soft-hairy to or above the middle, about equaling the stamens.
Fruits:
Berries, round, reddish-purple, 7-9 mm long, glabrous.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present over the Spring
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Ribes inerme

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)
 1006 650 1470
Slope Gradient (%)
 20 0 88

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

 44 16 345
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		4 2 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 26
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF

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

 BWBS(4), ICH(2), IDF(10), MS(5), PP(1), SBS(3)

Habitat and Range

Moist to dry streambanks, woodlands and forests in the lowland, montane and subalpine zones; locally frequent in S BC; E to AB and S to MT, NM and CA.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

© 2019 E-Flora BC  Contact us