Northern Redcurrant
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| Northern Redcurrant | ||||||||||||||
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| Ribes triste Pall. |
Northern Redcurrant or Swamp Redcurrant (Ribes triste) is a shrub in the flowering plant family Grossulariaceae, native to northern North America in Alaska, Canada, and the United States south to Oregon and Virginia.
It grows to 0.5 m tall, with a lax, often creeping branches. The leaves are alternate, palmately lobed with five lobes, 6-10 cm diameter. The flowers are in pendulous racemes 4-7 cm long, each flower small, purplish. The fruit is a bright red berry, without the hairs that some currants have.
[edit] Uses
The Dena'ina and other Native Americans use the berries as a food source. The Dena'ina names nunazk'et'i, which means "that which hangs down" and jeghdenghult'ila "ear it's tied onto" refer to the berries. It is said that the latter name relates to the idea that the hanging fruit resembles earrings.
Among the currants that grown in their country, the Dena'ina favor the northern red currant and the Trailing black currant for food. According to Osgood, red currants are also used for medicine. They were "skinned", placed in boiling water, and then wrapped and used as a poultice for sore eyes. for the Inland people, the stem and bark of this plant is made into medicine for colds, flu, and tuberculosis by boiling the plant and taking the decoction internally. Some people prefer to use either the stem or bark while others use both parts. The Dena'ina use the cooled tea as a wash for sore eyes, too. The Inland people also make a wash for the eyes of puppies from the leaves of the Northern red current.
