B130 

 (leaf 2) 



being mostly less than 1 inch wide. This species occurs chiefly in the high 

 mountains in the spruce-fir In'lt from British Columbia to Montana, New 

 Mexico, and California; it is also sometimes fairly abundant along the edges 

 of subalpine meadows and parks. It is only fair forage for sheep and poor 

 for cattle. The berries, much sought by grouse and other birds, are also ex- 

 cellent for pie. 



Citronella currant (R. hal'lii, syn. R. viscosis'simum hal'lii), with its light 

 blue, smooth berries and 3- to 5-lobed leaves of variable shape, occurs at 

 medium elevations chiefly in rocky places from southern Oregon to western 

 Nevada and California. The stems are smooth with dark-colored bark, and the 

 leafstalks are coarsely hairy. The fresh leaves have the odor of citronella. 

 This species rates somewhat higher in palatability than the average of the 

 genus, being fairly good browse for cattle, sheep, and goats. 



Prickly currant (R. lacus'tre, syn. Limnobo'trya,. lacus'tris) grows mostly 

 in swamps and is very widely distributed, ranging from Newfoundland to 

 Alaska and south to Pennsylvania, Colorado, and California. The sharply 

 toothed, mostly 5-lobed, leaves are about three-fourths of an inch to 2 inches 

 long; they are practically hairless, but are borne on hairy leafstalks. The 

 stems are both spiny and bristly, with the spines scarcely longer than the 

 bristles. The small purple-black berries are glandular-hairy. For the most 

 part this species is poor browse. 



Winter currant (R. sangui'neum), also called redflower currant and blood 

 currant, is one of the most interesting of the western Ribes. It is a stout 

 shrub with a balsamic odor and is probably the most robust of the western 

 species, often growing 12 feet high. The flowers are large, spicy-scented, and 

 red, purple-red, rose-colored, or occasionally white. It occurs in dry to moist 

 woods from British Columbia to California. The blue-black berries are globular, 

 rough, glandular-hairy, with a dense, whitish, waxy bloom, and are dry and 

 insipid with a sweetish to bitterish flavor. This species is a very handsome 

 ornamental and is widely cultivated, several horticultural varieties of it having 

 been developed. 



Currants, of course, are extensively grown for their fruits. W. T. Maeoun 

 (in Bailey) 4 states that currants are not known to have been cultivated prior 

 to the middle of the sixteenth century; that they are not mentioned by any 

 of the ancient authors who wrote about fruit, and that they apparently were 

 unknown to the Romans. Most species cultivated in America for their fruits 

 are derived from two introductions, the European red currant (R. sativum) 

 and the European black currant (R. nigrum). Swamp red currant (R. triste) 

 and American black currant (R. americanum) are two native American species 

 which offer promise for cultivation. 



Currants are easily cultivated; for the most part they are hardy and well 

 adapted to temperate regions. They reproduce from seed with but little varia- 

 tion. Cuttings of both ripened and green wood may be used for propagation, 

 and the establishment of new plants by layering is comparatively simple. 

 Grafting, however, is not resorted to unless it is desired to propagate some 

 unusual form. A treelike growth habit can be developed by eliminating the 

 root shoots and all the buds except the terminal one on the stem until the 

 stem reaches the desired height. 



4 Bailey, L. H. THE STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE . . . New ed., 3 v., illus. 

 New York and London. 1933. 



