Ribes wolfii

{{Short description|North American species of currant}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Ribes wolfii fruits.jpg

| image_caption =

| status = {{TNCStatus}}

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{cite web |last1=NatureServe |title=Ribes wolfii |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150680/Ribes_wolfii |access-date=9 October 2024 |location=Arlington, Virginia |date=2024}}

| genus = Ribes

| species = wolfii

| authority = Rothr., 1874

| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=315147-2 |title=Ribes wolfii Rothr. |access-date=9 October 2024}}

| synonyms = {{Species list

| Ribes mogollonicum | Greene (1881)

}}

}}

Ribes wolfii is a North American species of currant known by the common names Wolf's currant{{PLANTS|id=RIWO|taxon=Ribes wolfii|accessdate=22 October 2015}} and Rothrock currant. It is native to the western United States.

Description

Ribes wolfii is a shrub up to {{Convert|5|m}} tall, with 3–5 lobed leaves and cream-colored, pinkish or green pink flowers.{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ |title=Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest |last2=Kuhlmann |first2=Ellen |date=2014 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-263-1 |edition=1st |location=Portland, OR |pages=213}} The berries are black, glandular, and reportedly sweet and tasty.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065809 Flora of North America, Ribes wolfii Rothrock, 1874. Rothrock currant ][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41393368#page/369/mode/1up Rothrock, Joseph Trimble 1874. American Naturalist 8(6): 358–359]

Distribution and habitat

The distribution is disjunct or discontinuous, with two distinct concentrations of populations separate by a gap of over 320 km (200 miles). One is in northern Idaho, northeastern Oregon, and southeastern Washington. The other is in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ribes%20wolfii.png Biota of North America Program, 2014 county distribution map] There is also a report of an isolated population south of the border in Chihuahua, Mexico.[http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3009 SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter]

It grows in moist habitats including meadows and montane forests.

Uses

The berries are edible.

References