Ribena pure fruit syrups for the manufacture of milkshakes had been done at the Long Ashton Agriculture and Horticulture Research Station in North Somerset using a pectinase enzyme process; Ribena was essentially invented there by Vernon Charley, a scientist at the University of Bristol in 1933. The blackcurrant variety was found to contain high levels of vitamin C. The drink was launched in 1938 under the name Ribena (from the botanical name for the blackcurrant, "Ribes nigrum"). During the Second World War, other fruits rich in vitamin C, like oranges, became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom, due to
Ribes sanguineum each flower is in diameter, with five red or pink petals. The fruit is a dark purple oval berry about long, edible but with an insipid taste. The Latin specific epithet "sanguineum" means “blood-red” "Ribes sanguineum" was introduced into cultivation by 19th century Scottish botanist David Douglas. It and its varieties and cultivars are popular garden shrubs, valued for their brightly colored and scented flowers in early spring, and birds and habitat support. Numerous cultivars have been selected with flowers ranging from white to dark red. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit:- Ribes