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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
ABBREVIATION :
RIBAME
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
RIAM2
COMMON NAMES :
American black currant
black currant
eastern black currant
wild black currant
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for American black currant is
Ribes americanum Miller [13]. It is a member of the gooseberry family
(Grossulariaceae). There are no recognized infrataxa [13,43].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Gail Winkler, August 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
K. Anna Marshall, April 1995
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Marshall, K. Anna. 1995; Winkler, Gail. 1987. Ribes americanum. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The distribution of American black currant ranges east of the Rocky
Mountains from Alberta east to Nova Scotia, south to Delaware, west
through northern Illinois to Nebraska, and south to New Mexico
[13,16,17,23].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White-red-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
STATES :
CO CT DE IL IN IA ME MD MA MI
MN MT NE NY NJ NH NM ND OH PA
RI SD VT VA WV WI WY AB MB NB
NS ON PQ SK
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
ACAD AGFO ALPO APIS BADL BICA
CUVA GRPO INDU JOFL KNRI PIRO
PIPE SACR SHEN SLBE VOYA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
10 Wyoming Basin
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K093 Great Lakes spruce-fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce-fir forest
K099 Maple-basswood forest
K101 Elm-ash forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods-fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods-spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
14 Northern pin oak
15 Red pine
16 Aspen
17 Pin cherry
20 White pine-northern red oak-red maple
21 Eastern white pine
25 Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch
26 Sugar maple-basswood
27 Sugar maple
28 Black cherry-maple
31 Red spruce-sugar maple-beech
33 Red spruce-balsam fir
35 Paper birch-red spruce-balsam fir
37 Northern white-cedar
39 Black ash-American elm-red maple
42 Bur oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
55 Northern red oak
60 Beech-sugar maple
62 Silver maple-American elm
63 Cottonwood
108 Red maple
109 Hawthorn
110 Black oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
In addition to the plant associations and cover types listed in
preceding slots, American black currant occurs in prairie marshes in
southern Manitoba [21]. In Custer National Forest, Montana, American
black currant occurs in the green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)/
chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) habitat type and silver buffaloberry
(Shepherdia argentea) and western snowberry (Symphoricarpos
occidentalis) community types [15]. In Michigan and Minnesota, American
black currant is an invasive shrub in sedge (Carex spp.) meadows [33].
In northern Michigan, American black currant is a minor shrub in alder
(Alnus spp.) swamps [25].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
On a burned site in northwestern Minnesota, moose consumed American
black currant forage during April and May of postfire year 2. American
black currant comprised 7 percent of browsed twigs or stems. It was not
selected in preference to other shrub species [19].
The fruit of Ribes spp. is a valuable food source for songbirds,
chipmunks, ground squirrels, and other animals [22].
PALATABILITY :
The palatability of American black currant to wildlife in some western
states is rated as follows [7]:
Pronghorn fair
Elk fair
Mule deer fair
Small mammals good
Small nongame birds good
Upland game birds fair
Waterfowl poor
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
The fruit of American black currant is low in lipids and high in sugars
[38].
COVER VALUE :
Cover values for American black currant are rated as follows [7]:
UT WY
Pronghorn ---- fair
Elk ---- fair
Mule deer fair fair
Small mammals ---- good
Small nongame birds ---- good
Upland game birds ---- fair
Waterfowl ---- poor
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
The fruit of American black currant is used for making jam, jelly and
pie. American black currant is cultivated as an ornamental [26].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
American black currant is an alternate host for white pine blister rust
(Cronartium ribicola) which infests five-needled pines. Because of
their association with the rust, Ribes spp. have been the targets of
various eradication efforts; however, these efforts have had some
success only in the Great Lake States [14,24].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
American black currant is a native, deciduous shrub growing from 3.3 to
5 feet (1-1.5 m) tall [16]. Its many erect branches lack spines
[9,13,16]. The three- to five-lobed, suborbicular leaves are 1.2 to 3.2
inches (3-8 cm) wide and gland-dotted beneath [8,13,16,17]. Drooping
racemes are five- to ten-flowered [13,16]. The globose berries are
smooth and contain many seeds [13,16,38].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
American black currant reproduces mainly by seed. The ability of
American black currant to sprout from the root crown has not been
described in the literature.
Shrubs of Ribes spp. begin fruiting after 3 years [4]. Many seeds fall
beneath the parent plant; they are also dispersed by birds and mammals
[35,36].
Mineral soil and scarification generally enhance germination in Ribes
spp. [35,36,44]. Results of germination experiments on American black
currant are variable. In Montana, no germination was obtained when
American black currant fruit was fermented, aerated for 2 weeks, flailed
mechanically in water, and washed on screens [9]. In Dun County,
Wisconsin, seeds were obtained from green berries, almost-mature
berries, and mature berries. They were refrigerated for 6 months,
soaked in water for 10 days, and placed on moist blotting paper at 59
degrees Fahrenheit (15 deg C). After 13 months, only one seed, from a
"mature" berry, had germinated [11]. A germination rate of 76 percent
was obtained by stratifying American black currant seeds at 28 and 36
degrees Fahrenheit (-2.2-2.2 deg C) for 90 to 120 days. Seeds were
stratified and germinated in sand moistened with nutrient solution [26].
Hoyle [18] reported that chilling American black currant seeds at 38.3
degrees Fahrenheit (3.5 deg C) for 15 weeks promoted germination.
Fallen seeds of Ribes spp. may remain viable in the soil and duff for
many years [35,36]. The viability of American black currant seeds from
herbarium specimens 3 to 9 years old was tested. Fourteen seeds were
extracted and planted in peat at 40 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (10-25 deg
C) daily alternation. No seeds had germinated by the fourteenth week.
Drying Ribes seeds may induce dormancy [11].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
American black currant has wide ecological amplitude. It occurs in
swamps [17,25], in moist woods and canyons [9,17,23], along roadsides,
and on plains, foothills, and mountains [9,16,39,42]. It grows on
clayey, sandy, and rocky soils [9,39,42]. In Colorado, the elevational
range of American black currant is 3,500 to 8,000 feet (1,050-2,400 m)
[16]. On the Pine Ridge escarpments in Nebraska, American black currant
occurs from 2,500 to 4,500 feet (750-1,350 m) [39].
The Pine Ridge escarpments receive an average annual rainfall of
approximately 18 inches (45.72 cm), and summer drought is frequent. The
average frost-free period is 145 to 150 days [39]. On the eastern edge
of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where American black currant occurs in
alder swamps, climate is continental with modification by Lake Superior.
The average annual rainfall is 31 inches (780 mm). The average annual
snowfall is 96 inches (2,500 mm). The average summer temperature is 63
degrees Fahrenheit (17 deg C), and the mean frost-free period is 116
days [25].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
American black currant is somewhat shade tolerant. It often grows in
moist forests [9,13,16,23]. In Long Grove, Illinois, American black
currant grows in closed canopied woodlands [2]. In Minnesota, very
dense balsam fir (Abies balsamea) or northern white-cedar (Thuja
occidentalis) overstories suppress Ribes spp. [3].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
American black currant flowers May through June [23], and seed ripens
from mid-August through early September [9]. Near Woodworth Stutsman
County, North Dakota, Callow and others [6] recorded the following
phenological dates for American black currant from 1979 to 1984:
earliest first bloom 5/12/80
latest first bloom 6/06/79
median date of first 10 plants with flowers 5/18
median date of full flowering 5/21
median date when flowering was 95% complete 6/9
mean length of flowering period 22 days
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Fire ecology of American black currant is not described in the
literature. Although many authors discuss the effect of fire on Ribes
spp., most refer to studies conducted by Quick [30,31]. Quick described
postfire seedling establishment by Sierra Nevada gooseberry (R. roezli).
In northeastern Minnesota, skunk currant (R. glandulosa), like American
black currant, grows on moist to wet sites [13]. Skunk currant
seedlings established during postfire years 1 and 2 on sites where
low-severity wildfire or prescribed fire had occurred. By postfire year
5, skunk currant had begun to decline [1].
American black currant regeneration is probably favored by fire because
scarification of soil-stored seed generally enhances germination in
Ribes spp. [35,36]. The ability of American black currant to sprout
after fire is not described in the literature.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire probably severely damages or kills American black currant.
On Reed Turner Nature Preserve in Long Grove, Illinois, fall prescribed
fires were conducted in closed canopy woodlands. Fuel loads before the
fire were 550 grams per square meter. In postfire year 1, American
black currant decreased in importance by more than 50 percent [2].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
In northwestern Minnesota, American black currant was observed growing
on a burned site in postfire year 2. It is not clear whether American
black currant had sprouted or established from seed [19].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Ribes americanum | American Black Currant
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[12260]
Index
Related categories for Species: Ribes americanum
| American Black Currant
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