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.
Solanum nigrum varieties and forms described. The recognized subspecies are: 1. "S. nigrum" L. subsp. "nigrum" — glabrous to slightly hairy with appressed non-glandular hairs 2. "S. nigrum" L. subsp. "schultesii" (Opiz) Wessley — densely hairy with patent, glandular hairs The Solanum nigrum" complex — also known as Solanum" L. section "Solanum" — is the group of black nightshade species characterized by their lack of prickles and stellate hairs, their white flowers, and their green or black fruits arranged in an umbelliform fashion. The "Solanum" species in this group can be taxonomically confused, more so by intermediate forms and hybridization between the