Ribes hudsonianum Ribes hudsonianum Ribes hudsonianum is a North American species of currant, known by the common name northern black currant. "Ribes hudsonianum" grows in moist wooded areas, such as mountain streambanks and in swamp thickets. They are upright to erect shrubs growing one half to 2 meters (20-80 inches) tall. They are aromatic, with a strong scent generally considered unpleasant. Stems are covered in shiny, yellow resin glands that lack spines or prickles. Leaves are up to 10 centimeters long, divided into three, or rarely five, sharp-toothed lobes, having long hairs on the undersides, studded with yellow glands. Inflorescences are erect,
Ribes roezlii flowers hanging pendent from the branches. Each flower has five reflexed red-purple sepals around a tube-shaped ring of smaller white or pinkish petals, the stamens and stigmas protruding. The fruit is a red or purple berry up to 2.5 centimeters long which is covered in thick, long spines. Among other currants and gooseberries with overlapping ranges, such as mountain gooseberry ("Ribes montigenum") or wax currant ("Ribes cereum"), the sierra gooseberry is especially notable for the large size and extreme spininess of its berries, and for the absence of a noticeable dried flower remnant at the end of the fruit. Seeds