Ribes Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
- For the commune of the Ardèche in southern France, see Ribes, France.
R. sativum Syme whitecurrant
R. rubrum L. redcurrant
R. nigrum L. blackcurrant
R. grossularia L. Eurasian gooseberry
R. hirtellum North American gooseberry
R. sanguineum Flowering currant
R. triste Northern red currant
and about 150 others
The genus Ribes of flowering plants is the only one placed in the family Grossulariaceae.
Ribes includes the currants, including the edible blackcurrant, redcurrant and whitecurrant and many ornamental species, also the gooseberries.
They should not to be confused with the currant that is a kind of dried grape.
Seven subgenera are recognised. A few taxonomists place the gooseberries in a separate genus, Grossularia, but as they can be hybridised with blackcurrants (the result is called a Jostaberry), this seems inappropriate.