PLANT NATIVE: AMERICAN CURRANT

American Currant, Ribes americanum Height: 3-4’ Spread: 3-4’ Sun: Full sun to Part shade Water: Medium

This thornless currant grows naturally in low-lying moist woodlands. Its spring blossoms are yellow-green and showy with a bell-like shape. The small flowers are clustered together like dangling 1-3” long earrings, and are of special value to native bees. The attractive maple-like leaves are food for caterpillars of the Green Comma Butterfly. The fall color is a lovely red, which usually begins with coloring of the veins and the leaf margin. The fruit that forms is a small dark purple berry about a third of an inch in diameter. Black currants are very nutritious, high in Vitamins A and C, and in potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. In the landscape this easy-to-grow shrub does best in full sun and moist soil. Shrubs may show signs of stress in dry, hot sites and become spindly in too much shade. The selection ‘Riverview’ is a great choice, originally collected from naturally occurring plants growing along the Big Sioux River in South Dakota.

Native plant recommendations from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum,