Ribes lacustre : Bristly BlackCurrant

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family)

Genera: Ribes (Currants) (Arabic ribas=name of an unrelated rhubarb-like plant valued for its acid properties.)

Species: lacustre (Lat. lacus=a basin, lake, of the lake; referring to its lake side habitat.)

English Name(s):

Bristly BlackCurrant, Swamp Gooseberry, Swamp / Prickly Currant

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• Shrubs of medium size.
• Branches erect-ascending rarely up to 1 meter high.
• Densely prickly.

Leaves:

• Palmate and cordate in shape. Venation also palmate usually with 5 main viens.
• 3-5 deep lobes.
• Petiole (stalk) sparsely bristly.
• Blades 3-4cm long by 2-6cm wide.
• Glabrous (smooth) or nearly so.

Reproductive Parts:

• Flowers perfect (bisexual).
• Ovary superior with 2 united carpels (female parts).
• Calyx (petals + sepals) tubed with petals alternating with the stamens (male parts).
• Flower parts 5-merous.
• Petals shorter than the coloured sepals.
• Calyx pink, saucer shaped; Sepals 2-3mm long; Petals 1-1.5mm long.
• Flowers in a loose, spreading or drooping raceme of 6-20 flowers.

Seed:

• Fruit is a berry.
• Berries 5-9mm in diameter.
• Purpleish-black and glandular-bristly.

Not to Be Confused With:

• All Ribes (Currant) species look similar. Defining characteristics are: The colour of the berries red or black; Presence or not of bristles on stems or berries; Leaf lobes deep or shallow.
• R.hudsonianum has black berries but the plant has no bristles and the flowers are white.
• R.oxyacanthoides is simmilar but its racemes have only 1-3 flowers of greenish yellow colour. Also it is much more sparsely bristled.

Physiology:

Life Cycle:

• Perennial.

Seasonal Cycle:

• Leaves deciduous (falling off).

Animal Uses:

• Bees are the main pollinators of all Ribes (Currant) species. They gather both nectar and pollen from these shrubs.
• Birds are the main agents of seed dispersal. Eating the fruit whole and passing the seeds through their system. Tests show that some Ribes (Currant) seeds germinate better after passing through certain bird species.

Habitat:

• Moist open woods
• Preferring calcarious soils?

Modern:

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Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

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Traditional Other:

Folklore:

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