Clark's Oregon Wildflower Blog: Red Flowering Currant

On March 26, 1806, Lewis and Clark noted the Red Flowering Currant shrub in their journals. It was blooming along the Cowlitz River in Washington, 208 years ago, just as it is now, here in Oregon (3/21/2014). I find these parallels to be one of the fascinating aspects of my wildflower hobby. I suppose it should be no surprise that nature is consistent over time, providing we humans don't break the system!

Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) is a native, deciduous shrub that blooms in early Spring, throughout the lowlands of the Pacific Northwest. The blooms are named after the blood red color, that densely cover the shrub. The shrub is typically no more than about 9 ft. tall.

The resultant "currant" blue-black berry is frequently described as unpalatable, in contrast to the currants used in cooking today. What the heck are currants anyway? Most folks think of them as being a small grape-like fruit used in salads or for baking. The edible version of the currant berries actually come from a different, related shrub, Ribes rubrum and are most popular in Europe for jams and other culinary uses.

Archibald Menzies is regarded as the first European to discover Ribes sanguineum, which he did in 1793 during his voyage with Capt. George Vancouver. However, it was David Douglas, the famous Scottish plant explorer, who introduced it into British commerce. He found Ribes sanguineum growing near Fort Vancouver soon after his arrival in the spring of 1825. He sent seeds back to England, and the new plants flowered in 1828 when they were a little over two years old. Interestingly, the Horticultural Society of England, who funded the Douglas expedition, considered this new, red flowering, acquisition to be sufficient justification for the cost of his entire three year expedition (about $660 at that time).

We found these shrubs blooming at Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro during the week of 3/16 to 3/22. The new leaves emerge at the same time as the flowers.