Relatives
Ribes latifolium Jancz. - Broad-leaved currant.
Taxonomic position.
Family: Grossulariaceae Hill; genus: Ribes L.Morphology and biology.
Perennial plant. Shrub, 1-2 m high. Bark on the shoots is brown, notably ramentaceous. Leaves are thing, broad, with a heart-shaped base, up to 12 cm long and up to 15 cm in width, with 3-5 short wide-triangular lobes, sparsely pilose from above, densely pubescent from below, or absolutely naked on both sides, sharp-toothed along the margin. Racemes are 4-8 cm long, loose, consisting of 10-20 flowers. Rachis and flowers are covered by simple and glandular hairs. Pedicels are 1.5-3 mm long. Flowers are 5-7 mm long, of dirty dark purple colour. Hypanthium is naked, up to 2 mm in length and 3 mm wide. Flowers are funnel-shaped, 55 mm long and 6 mm in diameter. Sepals are obovate, ciliate along the edge; style is conical, with ? of its length coalesced. Ovary is semi-inferior. Berries are red, with thin smooth rind, of sour flavour, edible. Blossoms in May; bears fruit in June. Entomophilous.Distribution.
Japan, China, southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuriles.Ecology.
In the undergrowth of mountainous forests.Utilization and economic value.
Ornamental and fruit processing. Berries are used to make syrups, jellies, soft drinks, etc.References:
Flora of the Central Siberia. Onocleaceae-Saxifragaceae, 1979. Malyshev L.I., Peshkova G.A. (ed.). Novosibirsk: Nauka. Vol. I, p. 431. (in Russian).Flora of the USSR, 1939. Komarov V.L. (ed.). Moscow-Leningrad: Publishing House Acad. Sci. USSR, Vol. IX, p. 242. (in Russian).
Koropachinsky, I.Yu. and Vstovskata, T.N. 2002. Woody plants of Asiatic Russia. Novosibirsk: Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Science, GEO Branch Publishers, p. 282. (in Russian).
Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East, 1988, Vol. 3. Harkevitch S.S. (ed.). Leningrad: Nauka, p. 126. (in Russian).