44: HOW TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



from Pennsylvania north to Newfoundland, and 

 west through British Columbia and our northern 

 boundary states. 



FETID CURRANT. MOUNTAIN CURRANT 

 PROSTRATE CURRANT 



Ribes prostratum Gooseberry Family 



Fruit. — The round, light red berries grow in 

 slender racemes. The berries and their short 

 stems are covered with glandular bristles. When 

 bruised, they smell like Skunk Cabbage. 



Leaves. — The leaves are deeply five- to seven- 

 lobed. The lobes are ovate, acutish, and doubly 

 serrate. The leaf stems are slender. 



Flowers. — The greenish flowers grow in erect, 

 slender, several-flowered racemes. 



Prostrate stems, sometimes rooting, are char- 

 acteristic of this species. The branches have 

 neither prickles nor spines. The unpleasant 

 odor, when bruised, of both plant and fruit is 

 responsible for the name " Fetid Currant. " It 

 favors cold, wet woods, and extends south from 

 Labrador, especially along the Alleghanies, to 

 North Carolina, along the Rockies to Colorado, 

 and throughout southern Canada. 



