Ribes

:"For the commune of the Ardèche in southern France, see Ribes, Ardèche."Taxobox
name = Ribes


image_caption = "Ribes uva-crispa" (gooseberry)
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Saxifragales
familia = Grossulariaceae
genus = "Ribes"
genus_authority = L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = 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.

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

elected 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.uga.edu/fruit/ribes.html Entry on "Ribes" at Mark Rieger's UGa fruit crops site]