Family: Grossulariaceae (Currant family)

The currant family consists of deciduous shrubs with lobed and toothed leaves that alternate along
the stem. A small appendage called a stipule can be found just beneath the point where the leaf
attaches to the stem. The flowers are solitary or arranged in inflorescences that grow either at the
tip of the plant or from the point where leaves attach to the stem. The flowers have both pollen-
bearing and ovule-bearing parts, usually with 5 sepals and 5 petals. There are 4-5 stamens. The
sepals, petals, and stamens are fused together at their bases to collectively form a cup-like or tube-
like hypanthium. There is 1 ovary comprised of 2 carpels. The fruit is a fleshy berry. Species in this
family were formerly included in the Saxifragaceae.

Important genera
Ribes, genus of about 150 species of shrubs of two distinct groups, the currants and
the gooseberries, constituting the family Grossulariaceae. They are native to the temperate
regions of North America, extending southward into the Andes. Some authorities separate the
gooseberries as the genus Grossularia. Currants usually lack spines, while gooseberries are
usually prickly. Flowers of currants are generally clustered, those of gooseberries more often
solitary. The fruits of both groups are used in cooking and baking.
Species grown for their edible fruit include the English, or European, gooseberry (R. uva-
crispa), American gooseberry (R. hirtellum), black currant (R. nigrum), buffalo currant (R.
odoratum), and common, or garden or red, currant (R. rubrum). Species of ornamental value
include the alpine currant (R. alpinum); buffalo currant; fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (R.
speciosum); golden, or clove, currant (R. aureum), bearing spicy-fragrant yellow flowers;
and R. viburnifolium, a sprawling evergreen. Because all Ribes species are alternative hosts of
the destructive blister rust fungus, which also attacks white pines, there are local prohibitions
to growing Ribes near any white pine plantations.

Spot characters
The gooseberries and currants have regular, bisexual flowers, usually about 1/4inch in
diameter. The blossoms are yellow, white, greenish or sometimes red. The flowers have 5
united sepals and 5 separate petals (rarely 4 of each). There are 5 stamens, alternate with the
petals. The ovary is positioned either superior or inferior and consists of 2 united carpels
(bicarpellate) forming a single chamber. It matures as a berry with several to numerous seeds.

As you become familiar with these shrubs, you will recognize them by their distinctive
leaves alone. Note that ninebark (Physocarpus) of the Rose Family has very similar leaves.
Worldwide, there is only 1 genus consisting of 150 species of gooseberries and currants.
Economic uses,
Commercial sources of edible fruits (redcurrants, whitecurrants, and gooseberries), and
cultivated ornamental shrubs (e.g. Ribes sanguineum, Ribes aureum.
Examples:
Redcurrants
Culinary use:
Berryfruit, defined as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries,
elderberry, chokeberry, blackcurrant, and redcurrants, are widely regarded as some of the
most nutritious foods. They are good sources of important nutrients including minerals,
vitamins and fibre (USDA, 2005)

Medicinal use of Red Currant:

The fruit is antiscorbutic, aperient, depurative, digestive, diuretic, laxative, refrigerant and
sialagogue. The leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide. A concoction of them is used
externally to relieve rheumatic symptoms.

Gooseberries
Culinary uses:

Gooseberries are edible and can be eaten as-is, or used as an ingredient in desserts, such as
pies, fools and crumbles. Early pickings are generally sour and more appropriate for culinary
use.
Medicinal use :
Emblica officinalis), commonly known as Indian gooseberry or amla, family Euphorbiaceae,
is an important herbal drug used in unani (Graceo - arab) and ayurvedic systems
of medicine. The plant is used both as a medicine and as a tonic to build up lost vitality and
vigor.