Ribes

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For the commune of the Ardèche in southern France, see Ribes, Ardèche.
Ribes
Ribes uva-crispa (gooseberry)
Ribes uva-crispa (gooseberry)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Grossulariaceae
Genus: Ribes
L.
Species

See text

Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants, usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. The genus is native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Ribes includes the currants, including the edible currants (blackcurrant, redcurrant and whitecurrant), gooseberries, and many ornamental plants. The Ribes currant should not be confused with the Zante currant grape.

Currants are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species; see list of Lepidoptera that feed on currants.

Seven subgenera are recognised. A few taxonomists place the gooseberry species in a separate genus, Grossularia, despite the Jostaberry gooseberry/blackcurrant hybrid.

There are restrictions on growing Ribes species in many US states as they are a host for White Pine Blister Rust.

Contents

[edit] Uses

Blackfoot Indians used blackcurrant root (Ribes hudsonianum) for the treatment of kidney diseases and menstrual and menopausal problems. Cree Indians used the fruit of Ribes glandulosum as a fertility enhancer to assist women in becoming pregnant. Currant root and seeds are high in gamma-linolenic acid, also called GLA. GLA has been clinically verified as an effective treatment for pre-menstrual syndrome. [1]

[edit] Selected species

  • Ribes aciculare Sm.
  • Ribes alpestris (Decne) A.Berger - Hedge Gooseberry
  • Ribes alpinum L. - Alpine Currant
  • Ribes altamirani Jancz.
  • Ribes ambiguum Maxim.
  • Ribes americanum Mill.
  • Ribes aureum Pursh - Golden Currant
  • Ribes bracteosum Douglas ex Hook. - Californian Blackcurrant
  • Ribes burejense F.Schmidt
  • Ribes californicum Hook. & Arn.
  • Ribes cereum Douglas - Squaw Currant or Wax Currant
  • Ribes ciliatum Humb. & Bonpl.
  • Ribes coloradense Cov.
  • Ribes curvatum Small
  • Ribes cynosbati L. - Prickly Gooseberry
  • Ribes diacanthum Pall.
  • Ribes distans Jancz.
  • Ribes divaricatum Douglas
  • Ribes echinellum (Cov.) Rehder - Miccosukee Gooseberry
  • Ribes emodense Rehder
  • Ribes fasciculatum Siebold & Zucc.
  • Ribes fragrans Pall.
  • Ribes gayanum (Spach) Steud.
  • Ribes giraldii Jancz.
  • Ribes glaciale Wallich
  • Ribes glandulosum Grauer ex Weber - White currant
  • Ribes glutinosum Benth.
  • Ribes grossularioides Maxim. - Japanese Gooseberry
  • Ribes henryi Franch.
  • Ribes hirtellum Michx. - North American Gooseberry
  • Ribes hudsonianum Richards - Northern Blackcurrant
  • Ribes indecorum Eastw. - White-flowered Currant
  • Ribes inebrians Lindl.
  • Ribes inerme Rydb.
  • Ribes irriguum Douglas
  • Ribes japonicum Maxim.
  • Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir.
  • Ribes lasianthum Greene
  • Ribes laurifolium Jancz.
  • Ribes laxiflorum Pursh
  • Ribes leptanthum A.Gray
  • Ribes lobbii A.Gray - Gummy Gooseberry
  • Ribes longeracemosum Franch.
  • Ribes luridum Hook. & Thoms.
  • Ribes malvaceum Sm.
  • Ribes mandschuricum (Maxim.) Komarov
  • Ribes maximowiczii Batal.
  • Ribes menziesii Pursh - Canyon Gooseberry
  • Ribes meyeri Maxim.
  • Ribes missouriense Nutt. - Missouri Gooseberry
  • Ribes montigenum McClat.
  • Ribes moupinense Franch.
  • Ribes multiflorum Kit.
  • Ribes nevadense Kellogg - Sierra Currant
  • Ribes nigrum L. - Blackcurrant
  • Ribes niveum Lindl.
  • Ribes odoratum H.L.Wendl. - Buffalo Currant
  • Ribes orientale Desf.
  • Ribes oxyacanthoides L. - American Mountain Gooseberry
  • Ribes petiolare Fisch.
  • Ribes petraeum Wulf.
  • Ribes pinetorum Greene
  • Ribes procumbens Pall.
  • Ribes pulchellum Turcz.
  • Ribes quercetorum Greene
  • Ribes roezlii Reg. - Sierra Gooseberry
  • Ribes rotundifolium Michx.
  • Ribes rubrum L. - Redcurrant
  • Ribes sanguineum Pursh - Flowering Currant
  • Ribes setosum Lindl.
  • Ribes silvestre (Lam.) Mert. & Koch (syn. R. sativum)
  • Ribes speciosum Pursh - Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry
  • Ribes spicatum Robson - Nordic Redcurrant
  • Ribes stenocarpum Maxim.
  • Ribes tenue Jancz.
  • Ribes triste Pall. - Northern Redcurrant or Swamp Redcurrant
  • Ribes ussuriense Jancz.
  • Ribes uva-crispa L. (syn. R. grossularia) - Gooseberry
  • Ribes viburnifolium A.Gray
  • Ribes vilmorinii Jancz.
  • Ribes viscosissimum Pursh
  • Ribes warszewiczii Jancz.
  • Ribes wolfii Rothr.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1

[edit] External links

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