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 victoris one or two flowers hanging from the branches. Each flower has five reflexed sepals which are white with a pink blush at the bases around a central corolla of white petals. The whitish stamens and stigmas protrude from the center. The fruit is a yellow berry about a centimeter wide which is covered in glandular bristles. Ribes victoris Ribes victoris is an uncommon North American species of currant known by the common name Victor's gooseberry. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral and woods of canyons in the San Francisco Bay Area and counties to the