Blackcurrant Blackcurrant The blackcurrant or black currant ("Ribes nigrum") is a woody shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia where it prefers damp fertile soils and is widely cultivated both commercially and domestically. It is winterhardy, but cold weather at flowering time during the spring reduces the size of the crop. Bunches of small, glossy black fruit develop along the stems in the summer and can be harvested by hand or by machine. The raw fruit is particularly rich in vitamin C and polyphenol phytochemicals.
Ribes speciosum leathery leaves are shallowly divided into several lobes and are mostly hairless, the upper surfaces dark green and shiny. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or raceme of up to four flowers. The flower is a tube made up of the gland-studded scarlet sepals with the four red petals inside. The red stamens and stigmas protrude far from the mouth of the flower, each measuring up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long. The fruit is a red-orange berry about a centimeter (0.4 inch) long, is covered densely in glandular bristles. "Ribes speciosum" is cultivated as an ornamental plant for use