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 speciosum Ribes speciosum Ribes speciosum is a species of flowering plant in the Grossulariaceae family, which includes the edible currants and gooseberries. It is a spiny deciduous shrub with spring-flowering, elongate red flowers that resemble fuchsias, though it is not closely related. Its common names are fuchsia-flowered gooseberry and Californian fuchsia. It is native to central and southern California and Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges. "Ribes speciosum" is a spreading shrub which can reach in maximum height, its stems coated in bristles with three long spines at each stem node. The