{{Short description|North American species of currant}} {{Speciesbox | name = Wax currant | image = Ribes cereum var cereum 2.jpg | image_caption = ''Ribes cereum'' var. ''cereum'', from the Spring Mountains, southern Nevada | status = {{TNCStatus}} | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |last1=NatureServe |title=''Ribes cereum'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160703/Ribes_cereum |access-date=25 September 2024 |location=Arlington, Virginia |date=2024}}</ref> | genus = Ribes | species = cereum | authority = Douglas, 1830 | subdivision_ranks = Varieties | subdivision_ref = <ref name="POWO" /> | subdivision = {{Species list | Ribes cereum var. cereum | | Ribes cereum var. colubrinum | C.L.Hitchc. }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=30020120-2 |title=''Ribes cereum'' Douglas |access-date=26 September 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Species list | Cerophyllum douglasii | Spach (1838) }} }}
'''''Ribes cereum''''' is a species of currant known by the common names '''wax currant'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=RICE|taxon=Ribes cereum|accessdate=22 October 2015}}</ref> and '''squaw currant''';<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=42|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}}</ref> the ''pedicellare'' variety is known as '''whisky currant'''. The species is native to western North America.
== Description == ''Ribes cereum'' is a spreading or erect shrub growing between {{Convert|20|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} and {{Convert|2|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} in height.<ref name="fna">[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065818 Flora of North America, ''Ribes cereum'']</ref> The stems are fuzzy, often very glandular, and lack spines and prickles. The gray-green leaves are {{Convert|1.5-2.5|cm|frac=4}} long,<ref name="tktimb">{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ |title=Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest |last2=Kuhlmann |first2=Ellen |date=2014 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-263-1 |edition=1st |location=Portland, OR |pages=202}}</ref> somewhat rounded and divided into 3–5 shallow lobes<ref name=":1" /> which are toothed along the edges. The leaves are hairless to quite hairy<ref name="tktimb" /> and usually studded with visible resin glands, particularly around the edges.
The inflorescence is a clustered raceme of 2 to 9 flowers. The small flower is tubular with the white to pink sepals curling open at the tips to form a corolla-like structure. Inside there are minute white or pinkish petals, five stamens, and two protruding green styles. The fruit is a rather tasteless orange-red berry<ref name=":1" /> up to {{Cvt|1|cm|frac=8}} wide, with a characteristically long, dried flower remnant at the end.<ref name="fna" />
The plant is aromatic, with a spicy scent.<ref name="fna" /> The hairs on much of the plant can contribute to a carrion-like odor.<ref name=":1" />
{{gallery|mode=packed |Ribes cereum var cereum 5.jpg|April growth in the Spring Mountains, Nevada |Ribes cereum bush-4-19-04.jpg|Flowering in southwest Idaho |Wax currant Ribes cereum N of Forester Pass.jpg|Plant at {{convert|12500|ft|abbr=on}}, Sierra Nevada, California |Ribes cereum - south of Tumalo Park.jpg|Tumalo State Park, Oregon |Ribes cereum branch (sunny) - Sawyer Park.jpg|Branch in Bend, Oregon, backlit by sun |Wax currant Ribes cereum fruit.jpg|Berries with dried flower remnant }}
==Distribution and habitat== The species is native to western North America, including British Columbia, Alberta, and much of the western United States, from Washington, Oregon, and California to as far east as the western Dakotas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.<ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ribes%20cereum.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]</ref>
It grows in several types of habitat, including mountain forests in alpine climates, sagebrush, and woodlands. It can grow in many types of soils, including sandy soils and soil made of clay substrates, serpentine soils, and lava beds.<ref name="fs">[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/ribcer/all.html US Forest Service Fire Ecology]</ref>
==Ecology== The berries are a significant food source for deer<ref name=":1" /> and are consumed by other animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ribes cereum |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/ribcer/all.html |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=U.S. Forest Service}}</ref>
==Uses== Some Native American tribes ate the berries.<ref name=":0" /> The Zuni people eat the berries of the ''pedicellare'' variety, as well as the leaves with uncooked mutton fat or deer fat.<ref>Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 70)</ref>
One field guide reports that the berries are somewhat toxic and can have an unpleasant flavor.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blackwell|first=Laird R.|title=Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide to Common Wildflowers of the High Deserts of Nevada, Utah, and Oregon (A Falcon Guide)|publisher=Morris Book Publishing, LLC|year=2006|isbn=0-7627-3805-7|edition=1st|location=Guilford, Conn.|pages=213|oclc=61461560}}</ref> Eating too many may cause a burning feeling in the throat.<ref name=":1" /> One source says they are good when ripe, and can be made into jam or pie fillings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Benoliel|first=Doug|title=Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest|publisher=Skipstone|year=2011|isbn=978-1-59485-366-1|edition=Rev. and updated|location=Seattle, WA|pages=163|oclc=668195076}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons|Ribes cereum}}
* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4450,4451,4462 Jepson Manual Treatment] * [http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Ribes&Species=cereum University of Washington, Burke Museum] * [http://www.tropicos.org/Image/100381956 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Idaho in 2014] * {{PFAF|Ribes cereum}} * {{CalPhotos|Ribes|cereum}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4425192}}
canthariforme Category:Berries Category:Flora of Northern America Category:Plants described in 1830 Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine
{{Saxifragales-stub}}