bristly; and the flowers are borne in usually drooping and many- 

 flowered clusters. 



Currants are very widely distributed in the West, occurring from the semi- 

 desert areas at lower elevations to the upper limits of the spruce-fir belt in the 

 mountains. Some species favor moist, shaded sites and grow on timbered, north 

 slopes and along streams ; others occur on dry, south slopes and ridges in full 

 sunlight. The currants, generally, are mostly scattered, developing as indi- 

 vidual bushes or growing in small patches, but seldom forming dense stands 

 of any considerable size. On the whole, however, they are common and in 

 many localities are near the van among the shrubby components of range 

 vegetation. 



As browse plants the currants are often a material factor in the carrying 

 capacity of the range because of their common occurrence, the large amount of 

 foliage produced, and the relatively low, rounded, and scattered growth habit, 

 which is conducive to easy utilization. In general, however, their palatability 

 is low, being poor to fair for cattle and poor to fairly good for sheep and 

 goats. Horses rarely crop them, although deer and elk browse the leaves during 

 the summer and fall, and the shoots and twigs during winter, depending upon 

 the amount of other forage available. Although the fruits of all species are 

 edible, certain ones are not pleasing to the human palate; the berries of some 

 native western species are commonly gathered and used by local residents. 

 Undoubtedly the berries are an important source of food for many birds and 

 smaller animals. 



The currants are of considerable importance in forestry in all parts of the 

 United States where white (5-needle) pines are important' timber trees. These 

 shrubs, as well as the gooseberries, serve as alternate hosts for the fungus 

 (Cronartium ribicola) which causes white pine blister rust. This disease, an 

 arch destroyer of white pines, is common over much of the white pine region in 

 the eastern United States and has now become established in many parts of 

 the West. The only practical method of controlling the disease is to eradicate 

 all currants and gooseberries in the vicinity of stands of white pine. Such 

 control methods have been initiated in parts of the country where white pines 

 are important timber trees. 12 



From a browse standpoint sticky currant (R. vucoslssimum) , wax currant 

 (R. cereum) including the very closely related squaw currant (R. inebrians) 

 and western black currant (R. petiolare) are, perhaps, the most important of 

 the western currants and are treated separately in this handbook. A number 

 of other native western currants are also comparatively widespread and com- 

 mon ; prominent among these are golden currant, gooseberry currant, citron- 

 ella currant, prickly currant, and winter currant, brief notes for which species 

 follow : 



Golden currant (R. au'reum, syn. Chrysobo'trya au'rea) is widely distributed 

 throughout the Western States, growing principally along water courses at the 

 lower and medium elevations. The sweet, juicy berries are mostly yellow in 

 color, although some may be red or even black. The stems are without spines 

 or bristles, the calyx tube is very long and slender, and the flowers are yellow. 

 This species rates about average in palatability. It is sometimes grown as an 

 ornamental, although the closely related clove currant (R. odoratum, syns. 

 R. aureum odoratum, R. fragrans, R. longiflorum, Chrysobotrya odorata) of the 

 gardens, also known as buffalo and Missouri currant, of the Middle West, is 

 perhaps the most extensively cultivated of our native currants. A large- 

 berried form of R. odoratum known as Crandall currant is cultivated for its 

 fruit. 



Gooseberry currant (R. monti' gennm, syn. Limnobo'trya monti'yena) is a 

 straggling shrub, 1 to 2 feet high, with more or less spiny stems, rather short 

 clusters of only three to seven flowers, and bright red, densely glandular- 

 bristly berries. The 3- to 5-lobed leaves are glandular-hairy and rather small, 



1 Darrow, G. M., and Detwiler, S. B. CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES : THEIR CULTURE 

 AND RELATION TO WHITE-PINE BUSTER RUST. U. S. Dent. Agr. Farmers' Bull. 1398, rev., 

 43 pp., illus. 1929. 



2 Spaulding, P. WHITE-PINE BLISTER RUST : A COMPARISON OF EUROPEAN WITH NORTH 

 AMERICAN CONDITIONS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 87, 58 pp., illus. 1929. 



8 Offord, H. R. THE CHEMICAL ERADICATION OF RISES. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 240, 

 24 pp., illus. 1931. 



