47.214.193.24: Wikifruit: independently reviewed article maintenance

2026-10-02T22:42:21Z

Wikifruit: independently reviewed article maintenance

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{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | Wax currant (''Ribes cereum'')
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[File:Ribes cereum 0132.JPG|280px|Ribes cereum in habitat at Dry Falls State Park, Washington.]]
|-
! Scientific name
| ''Ribes cereum'' [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Common names
| wax currant; western red currant
|-
! Genus
| [[Ribes|''Ribes'']] [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Family
| [[Grossulariaceae|''Grossulariaceae'']] [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Order
| [[Saxifragales|''Saxifragales'']] [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Habit
| shrub under 1.5 m [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Fruit
| red berries about 6–7 mm wide [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]
|-
! Light
| sun to part shade [[#cite_note-2|[2]]]
|-
! Soil
| rocky or gravelly, well-drained soil [[#cite_note-2|[2]]]
|}

''Ribes cereum'', commonly called wax currant or western red currant, is a small North American shrub with red fruit. Its flowers range from white to pink, and its berries ripen in summer. [[#cite_note-1|[1]]] [[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

== Description ==

The shrub is under 1.5 m in the Jepson treatment. Its leaves are 1–4 cm wide, shallowly lobed, and spicy-smelling. Short racemes carry three to seven flowers; the flowers are white to pink. The fruit is red and approximately 6–7 mm wide. [[#cite_note-1|[1]]]

The species occurs in open, dry or rocky settings. It grows in rocky or gravelly ground, dry ravines, open woodland, ridges, slopes, and dry meadows; the Crater Lake ecotype used for nursery propagation came from open ridges, slopes, and dry meadows. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]] [[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

Use a sharply drained mineral soil or a well-drained rocky or gravelly loam. A raised or sloping position is a closer match to the species' dry ravine, ridge, slope, and meadow settings than a site that stays wet after irrigation. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]] [[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

Keep the root zone from remaining persistently saturated. The species' dry ravines, ridges, slopes, and meadows make drainage a stronger site priority than constant moisture. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]] [[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

=== Sun and humidity ===

''Ribes cereum'' is shade-intolerant but is also listed for part shade; the documented ecotype came from open ridges, slopes, and dry meadows. Bright exposure is therefore preferable where the soil drains freely. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]] [[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

=== Seasonal changes ===

Fruit ripens in July–August, and red-ripe fruit was collected in August for nursery propagation. Plan seed collection for late summer and distinguish ripe red berries from earlier green or developing fruit. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]] [[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

== Propagation ==

Collect fruit when it is red-ripe, then remove the pulp before preparing seed. For a Crater Lake ecotype, a USDA nursery protocol germinated fresh seed after 12 weeks of cold-moist stratification at approximately 34–38 °F. Stored seed from that protocol performed better after 25 weeks under the same general cold-moist treatment. These are protocol-specific observations, not a guaranteed schedule for every seed lot. [[#cite_note-4|[4]]]

For another treatment, near-freezing stratification lasted roughly four to five months at about 3–5 °C. The differing durations are a reason to track seed age and treatment rather than assume that one stratification period will suit every lot. [[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

The same USDA nursery protocol used October hardwood cuttings treated with 0.8% IBA on a mist bench; they rooted by January. That result supports trying mature wood under comparable propagation conditions, but it does not establish a general rooting percentage or universal timing. [[#cite_note-4|[4]]] [[#cite_note-5|[5]]]

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

The short racemes contain three to seven white or pink flowers. Red fruit is about 6–7 mm wide, with ripening in July–August. Harvest ripe red berries in the late-summer window rather than using a calendar date as a fixed rule for every climate. [[#cite_note-1|[1]]] [[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

Container production followed by hardening and outplanting was documented for a Crater Lake ecotype. The container, hardening, and outplanting observations apply to that ecotype; they do not establish a species-wide age to first fruit or a universal yield. [[#cite_note-4|[4]]]

== Fruit and uses ==

Fruit has been used fresh or cooked, dried, or prepared as preserves, sauces, and pies; descriptions of its quality range from insipid or rubbery to highly esteemed. These culinary uses and quality descriptions remain variable observations, not a guarantee of palatability for every plant. [[#cite_note-6|[6]]]

== Photos ==

[[File:Ribes cereum 9487.JPG|320px|Ribes cereum in Elinor's Canyon, Washington.]]

== References ==

* [[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display_N.php?tid=41385 Ribes cereum — Jepson eFlora treatment].

* [[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' [https://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/Plants/Ribes%20cereum.htm Plant Data Sheet: Ribes cereum, western red currant — University of Washington].

* [[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://npn.rngr.net/npn/npn/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=grossulariaceae-ribes-2476 Native Plant Network propagation protocol: Ribes (cereum)].

* [[#cite_ref-4|↑]] '''[4]''' [https://nrcs.usda.gov/plantmaterials/orpmcot9931.pdf Trindle and Flessner, Propagation protocol for production of container Ribes cereum plants — USDA NRCS Corvallis Plant Materials Center, 2003].

* [[#cite_ref-5|↑]] '''[5]''' [https://npn.rngr.net/npn/npn/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=grossulariaceae-ribes-2476 Native Plant Network record of the Ribes cereum container and hardwood-cutting protocol].

* [[#cite_ref-6|↑]] '''[6]''' [https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Ribes+cereum Ribes cereum — Plants For A Future database].

== Image credits ==

* ''Ribes cereum 0132.JPG'' — Walter Siegmund; CC BY-SA 4.0; [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ribes_cereum_0132.JPG Wikimedia Commons file page]. Caption: Ribes cereum in habitat at Dry Falls State Park, Washington.

* ''Ribes cereum 9487.JPG'' — Walter Siegmund; CC BY-SA 4.0; [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ribes_cereum_9487.JPG Wikimedia Commons file page]. Caption: Ribes cereum in Elinor's Canyon, Washington.

[[Category:Fruit plants]]
[[Category:Grossulariaceae]]

Ribes cereum - Revision history

47.214.193.24: Wikifruit: independently reviewed article maintenance