Ribes 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". 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. Blackfoot Indians used blackcurrant root "(Ribes hudsonianum)" for the treatment of kidney diseases and menstrual and menopausal problems. Cree Indians used the fruit of "Ribes glandulosum" as a fertility enhancer to assist women in becoming pregnant. Currants are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. Ribes
Ribes oxyacanthoides found in mountain talus. This plant is an alternate host for the white pine blister rust ("Cronartium ribicola"), the vector of a pine tree disease. It is sometimes eradicated in attempts to control the rust. Small amounts of this shrub and its fruit are present in the diets of wildlife species such as grizzly bear and mule deer. Humans find it "more or less palatable". Many Native American groups collected and stored it for food. The Ojibwa cooked and ate it with sweet corn and made it into preserves, for example. The root was used medicinally. Ribes oxyacanthoides Ribes oxyacanthoides