Ribes Ribes Ribes is a genus of about 150 known species of flowering plants native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae, but a few taxonomists place the gooseberry species in a separate genus of "Grossularia". Sometimes "Ribes" is instead included in the family Saxifragaceae. The genus "Ribes" includes the edible currants (blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant), the gooseberry, and several hybrid varieties. It should not be confused with the dried currant used in cakes and puddings, which is a small-fruited cultivar of grape (Zante currant). "Ribes" gives its
Solanum nigrum in the unripe green berries, and immature fruit should be treated as toxic. Most cases of suspected poisoning are due to consumption of leaves or unripe fruit. There are ethnobotanical accounts of "S. nigrum" leaves and shoots being boiled as a vegetable with the cooking water being discarded and replaced several times to remove toxins. Some of the uses ascribed to "S. nigrum" in literature may actually apply to other black nightshade species within the same species complex, and proper species identification is essential for food and medicinal uses (See "Taxonomy" section). "S. nigrum" has been widely used as a