Ribes

''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible fruit or as ornamental plants. ''Ribes'' is the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae.

Description

''Ribes'' species are medium shrublike plants with marked diversity in strikingly diverse flowers and fruit. They have either palmately lobed or compound leaves, and some have thorns. The sepals of the flowers are larger than the petals, and fuse into a tube or saucer shape. The ovary is inferior, maturing into a berry with many seeds.

Taxonomy

''Ribes'' is the single genus in the Saxifragales family Grossulariaceae. Although once included in the broader circumscription of Saxifragaceae ''sensu lato'', it is now positioned as a sister group to Saxifragaceae ''sensu stricto''.

Subdivision

First treated on a worldwide basis in 1907, the infrageneric classification has undergone many revisions, and even in the era of molecular phylogenetics there has been contradictory evidence. Although sometimes treated as two separate genera, ''Ribes'' and ''Grossularia'' (Berger 1924), the consensus has been to consider it as a single genus, divided into a number of subgenera, the main ones of which are subgenus ''Ribes'' (currants) and subgenus ''Grossularia'' (gooseberries), further subdivided into sections. Janczewski (1907) considered six subgenera and eleven sections. Berger's twelve subgenera based on two distinct genera (see Table 1) have subsequently been demoted to sections. Weigend (2007) elevated a number of sections to produce a taxonomy of seven subgenera; ''Ribes'' (sections ''Ribes'', ''Heretiera'', ''Berisia'') ''Coreosma'', ''Calobotrya'' (sections ''Calobotrya'', ''Cerophyllum''), ''Symphocalyx'', ''Grossularioides'', ''Grossularia'', ''Parilla''.

Taxonomy, according to Berger, modified by Sinnott (1985):
* Subgenus ''Ribes'' L. (currants) 8 sections
** Section ''Berisia'' Spach (alpine currants)
** Section ''Calobotrya'' (Spach) Jancz. (ornamental currants)
** Section ''Coreosma'' (Spach) Jancz. (black currants)
** Section ''Grossularioides'' ( Jancz.) Rehd. (spiny or Gooseberry-stemmed currants)
** Section ''Heritiera'' Jancz. (dwarf or skunk currants)
** Section ''Parilla'' Jancz. (Andine or South American currants)
** Section ''Ribes'' L. (red currants)
** Section ''Symphocalyx'' Berland. (golden currants)
* Subgenus ''Grossularia'' (Mill.) Pers. (Gooseberries) 4 sections
** Section ''Grossularia'' (Mill.) Nutt.
** Section ''Robsonia'' Berland.
** Section ''Hesperia'' A.Berger
** Section ''Lobbia'' A. Berger

Some authors continued to treat ''Hesperia'' and ''Lobbia'' as subgenera. Early molecular studies suggested that subgenus ''Grossularia'' was actually embedded within subgenus ''Ribes''. Analysis of combined molecular datasets confirms subgenus ''Grossularia'' as a monophyletic group, with two main lineages, sect. ''Grossularia'' and another clade consisting of glabrous gooseberies, including ''Hesperia'', ''Lobbia'' and ''Robsonia''. Other monophyletic groups identified were ''Calobotrya'', ''Parilla'', ''Symphocalyx'' and ''Berisia''. However sections ''Ribes'', ''Coreosma'' and ''Heritiera'' were not well supported. Consequently, there is insufficient resolution to justify further taxonomic revision.

Species

There are around 200 species of ''Ribes''. Selected species include:
*''Ribes alpinum''
*''Ribes aureum''
*'' Ribes cereum''
*''Ribes divaricatum''
*'' Ribes glandulosum''
*'' Ribes hirtellum''
*'' Ribes hudsonianum''
*''Ribes inerme''
*'' Ribes lacustre''
*''Ribes laurifolium''
*''Ribes lobbii''
*'' Ribes montigenum''
*''Ribes nevadense''
*'' Ribes nigrum''
*'' Ribes oxyacanthoides''
*''Ribes rubrum''
*''Ribes sanguineum''
*'' Ribes speciosum''
*''Ribes triste''
*''Ribes uva-crispa''

Distribution and habitat

''Ribes'' is widely distributed through the Northern Hemisphere, and also extending south in the mountainous areas of South America. Species can be found in meadows or near streams.

Ecology

Currants are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.

Cultivation

The genus ''Ribes'' includes the edible currants: blackcurrant, redcurrant and white currant, as well as the European gooseberry ''Ribes uva-crispa'' and several hybrid varieties. It should not be confused with the dried currants used in cakes and puddings, which are from the Zante currant, a small-fruited cultivar of the grape ''Vitis vinifera''. ''Ribes'' gives its name to the popular blackcurrant cordial Ribena.

The genus also includes the group of ornamental plants collectively known as the flowering currants, for instance '' R. sanguineum''.

United States

There are restrictions on growing some ''Ribes'' species in some U.S. states, as they are the main alternate host for white pine blister rust.

Uses

Blackfoot people used blackcurrant root ('' Ribes hudsonianum'') for the treatment of kidney diseases and menstrual and menopausal problems. The Cree used the fruit of '' Ribes glandulosum'' as a fertility enhancer to assist women in becoming pregnant.

European immigrants who settled in North America in the 18th-century typically made wine from both red and white currants.

References

Bibliography

Books and theses

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Articles

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Websites

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Entry on ''Ribes'' at Mark Rieger's UGa fruit crops site

External links

{{Authority control

Ribes
Saxifragales genera
Edible plants
Garden plants of North America
Garden plants of Europe
Garden plants of Asia
Shrubs
Drought-tolerant plants
Bird food plants
Butterfly food plants
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Melliferous flowers