Sticky currant, known also as hairy currant and sandbox currant, 

 is a rather stiff-twigged, bushy, spineless shrub with reddish, shreddy 

 bark and with the leaves, youn<r shoots, flowers, and berries usually 

 densely glandular-hairy. The glandular or viscid nature of the plant 

 is reflected in the specific name viscosissimum, a Latin adjective mean- 

 ing very sticky. This is a rather widely distributed species, ranging 

 from British Columbia to California, Utah, northern Colorado, and 

 Montana. It occurs mostly in the mountains in the ponderosa pine, 

 lodgepole pine, and spruce-fir types, but also grows in aspen and 

 brush types as well as in the open, frequently on rather dry rocky 

 sites. As a general rule, this shrub is of scattered occurrence, but it is 

 common and sometimes locally abundant. In the Northwest this 

 species occurs chiefly between elevations of 1,400 and 5,000 feet, fre- 

 quently in association with Douglas maple (Acer dougla-sii) and 

 thimbleberry (Rufous parviflorm) . In California it grows in the 

 mountains at elevations from 8,000 to 9,500 feet, often on rocky sites. 

 In the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains the altitudinal range of 

 this species is from about 2.500 feet (in Idaho) to 9,500 feet (in Utah 

 and Colorado). 



As browse, sticky currant is important chiefly because of its local 

 abundance, wide distribution, and the large amount of leafage which 

 it produces. The leaves remain green and are retained until killing 

 frosts occur; the plants form rounded bushes, seldom over 5 feet in 

 height, with the foliage easily accessible to livestock features which 

 add appreciably to the browse value of this species. Its palatability, 

 however, is, as a rule, low, though varying somewhat with local plant 

 associates. In Colorado it is worthless to poor for both cattle and 

 sheep. In Utah and southern Idaho it is fair or even fairly good 

 at least for sheep. In Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho 

 it is worthless to poor for cattle and fair for sheep, and in California 

 it rates as worthless or occasionally poor for cattle and poor to fair 

 for sheep and goats. In general, it is fair deer and elk browse. 

 Sticky currant is probably of most value as fall forage, though it is 

 limitedly browsed during the summer, and deer and elk often nibble 

 the twigs on winter range. 



The black, seedy berries, which ripen in August and September, 

 are consumed by birds, bears, and rodents. The ripe berries have 

 little pulp; their flavor, colloquially described as "fuzzy", is peculiar; 

 they are used to some extent locally for jam and as the fruit filling 

 in pies. 



