''Ribes aureum'', known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the genus ''

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 species may be known as various kinds of currants, such as redcurrants, blackcurrants, and White ...

'' native to North America.

Description

The plant is a small to medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub, tall. The leaves are long, green, semi-leathery, with 3 or 5 lobes; they turn red in autumn. The plant blooms in spring with

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of conspicuous golden yellow flowers, often with a pronounced, spicy fragrance similar to that of

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

s or

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

. Flowers may also be shades of

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

to reddish, and are borne in clusters of up to 18.USDA Species Profile
/ref> The shrub produces

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

about in diameter from an early age. The ripe fruits are amber yellow to black. Those of

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''villosum'' are black.

Taxonomy

The species belongs to the subgenus ''Ribes'', which contains other currants such as the

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

(''R. nigrum'') and

redcurrant The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes ...

(''R. rubrum''), and is the sole member of the section ''Symphocalyx''.

Varieties

* ''Ribes aureum'' var. ''aureum'': below in the western U.S. * ''Ribes aureum'' var. ''gracillimum'': below in the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...

* ''Ribes aureum'' var. ''villosum'' – clove currant (syn: ''Ribes odoratum''); native west of Mississippi River, but naturalized further to the east

Distribution and habitat

''Ribes aureum'' is native to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

central United States The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States, Eastern and Western United States, Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's d ...

west of the Mississippi River, but has escaped cultivation and naturalized in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

. It can be found around gravel banks and plains around flowing water.

Ecology

Pollinators of the plant include hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. The fruit is eaten by various birds and mammals. This currant species is susceptible to

white pine blister rust ''Cronartium ribicola'' is a species of rust (fungus), rust fungus in the family Cronartiaceae that causes the disease white pine blister rust. Other names include: (French), (German), (Spanish). Origin ''Cronartium ribicola'' is native to C ...

(''Cronartium ribicola''), a fungus which attacks and kills

pines A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as ...

, so it is sometimes eradicated from forested areas where the fungus is active to prevent its spread.

Cultivation

''R. aureum'' is widely cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, in traditional,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

, drought tolerant, and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an Biophysical environment, environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater t ...

s, and

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landscaping is adapted to t ...

projects. Named

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been also introduced. Although the flowers are

hermaphroditic A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

, the yield is greatly benefited by

cross-pollination Xenogamy (Greek ''xenos''=stranger, ''gamos''=marriage) is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of a different plant. This is the only type of cross pollination which during pollination brings genetically different types of ...

Uses

The fruits are edible raw, but are very tart or bitter. They are usually cooked with sugar and can be made into jelly. The flowers are also edible. The berries have been used for food, and other plant parts for medicine, by various Native American groups across its range in North America.University of Michigan (Dearborn): Ethnobotany
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment – ''Ribes aureum''

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Ribes aureum'' (golden currant)

University of Washington, Burke Museum

Line drawing for Flora of Pakistan
* * {{- aureum Flora of Canada Flora of the United States Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Plants described in 1813