Ribes aureum where the fungus is active to prevent its spread. Ribes aureum Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species in the genus "Ribes". It is native to Canada, most of the United States (except the southeast) and northern Mexico. The variety "Ribes aureum" var. "villosum" is sometimes considered a full species, Ribes odoratum. It belongs to the subgenus "Ribes", which contains other currants, such as the blackcurrant and redcurrant ("Ribes nigrum" and "rubrum"), and is the sole member of the section "Symphocalyx". "Ribes aureum" is a small to medium-sized deciduous
Ribes oxyacanthoides found in mountain talus. This plant is an alternate host for the white pine blister rust ("Cronartium ribicola"), the vector of a pine tree disease. It is sometimes eradicated in attempts to control the rust. Small amounts of this shrub and its fruit are present in the diets of wildlife species such as grizzly bear and mule deer. Humans find it "more or less palatable". Many Native American groups collected and stored it for food. The Ojibwa cooked and ate it with sweet corn and made it into preserves, for example. The root was used medicinally. Ribes oxyacanthoides Ribes oxyacanthoides