WILD BLACK CURRANT 



Ribes ameticanum Mill. 



April Tn llic rich, alluvial black soil of lowland woods, the wild 



Swamps lilack lui-raiit in Ajjril hangs out its chains of bright yt'lK)w 

 bells with their pleasant fragrance of clt)ves. It is one of those 

 special sights of s])ring — the wild currant bush with its new. perfect. 

 heart-shaped, [ilcatcd young leaves and it- droo])ing racemes of .scented, 

 bright gold ilowers. 



The blossoms are bell-shaped with five I'ecurving petal divisions and 

 still* yellow and white stamens aiul j)istil within. The tlowers are jilaceil 

 alternately along the thin. weak, downy stem whirh s|)rings from the 

 axils of the secondary \w\\ branches and leaf-axils. 



The fniits of wild black currant are ]>urplish bhuk and edible, 

 though they are far moi-e tasty when cooked than when they are eaten 

 raw. They are .smooth and thick-skinned, liang in the same clusters as 

 the Ilowers did — from gold to ])ur|)le. it is just a nuitter of a few weeks 

 from on(> to the other. Thi' fruits when crushed have some of that faint 

 odoi- of >kunk which is inexplicably found in certain other miMubers of 

 the genus Kibes. 



The Arabs knew currants. It was they who gave them the name of 

 Hibes. which was dcriv(>il fi-om an Arabic word meaning "fruit with acid 

 juice". 



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