VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ribes aureum | Golden Currant 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
In Logan, Utah, golden currant twigs and foliage were browsed May 31 to
August 1 by captive deer [43].

The fruit of Ribes spp. is a valuable food source for songbirds,
chipmunks, ground squirrels, and other animals [27].


PALATABILITY : 
The palatability of golden currant to livestock is rated as follows
[13]:

                       CO         MT       ND        UT        WY
 
Cattle                poor       poor     ----      good      fair
Sheep                 fair       fair     ----      good      fair
Horses                poor       poor     ----      poor      poor      


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Currants (Ribes spp.) contain high concentrations of mono- and
disaccharides [48].


COVER VALUE : 
Cover values for golden currant are as follows [13]:

                        CO           MT           UT            WY
Pronghorn              ----         ----         poor          poor 
Elk                    ----         ----         poor          poor 
Mule deer              ----         poor         fair          fair
White-tailed deer      ----         ----         ----          fair
Small mammals          fair         poor         good          good
Small nongame birds    poor         poor         good          good
Upland game birds      ----         poor         good          fair
Waterfowl              ----         ----         poor          poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Golden currant can be used to revegetate roadsides and disturbed areas
[9,10,40,50].  In Alpine County, California, container-grown golden
currant seedlings were planted on mine spoils.  The average percent
survival of golden currant seedlings was 91 percent after 1 year and 77
percent after 2 years [9].  Schroeder [40] rated golden currant high
in hardiness, low in soil requirements, and medium in growth rate.
Plummer and others [37] rated the suitability of golden currant for
restoring rangeland in Utah as follows:

        initial establishment		good
        growth rate			good
        persistence			good
        germination			medium to fair
        seed production	        	medium to fair
        ease of planting		very good
        natural spread			good


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The fruit of golden currant is used for making jam, jelly, and pie [34].
Some western Indian tribes used currants (Ribes spp.) for making
pemmican [30].  Golden currant is cultivated as an ornamental [34].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Golden currant is an alternate host for white pine blister rust
(Cronartium ribicola) which infests five-needled pines [31].  Because of
their association with the rust, Ribes spp. have been targets of various
eradication efforts [3,29,31]; however, these efforts have had some
success only in the Great Lake States [20].

Related categories for Species: Ribes aureum | Golden Currant