Stream Corner

The rock currant is a thornless shrub of upright habit growing to a height of 1.5-2 m. The stems are reddish brown with bark that tends to peel; the buds are 'dark brown, ovate. The reddish flowers appear at the end of May, the red, slightly sour berries in drooping clusters ripen in August and the seeds are dispersed by birds.

The pinnate leaves, measuring about 20 cm, are a glossy dark green, turning shades of copper and bronze in winter. The yellow flowers, borne in clustered racemes, appear in April. The bluish berries containing 3-5 seeds ripen in August and are edible. They are also used in preserves and to colour wines.

It is a close relative of R. spicatum (the red currant), which grows mainly in northern Europe and Siberia, and of R. rubrum, which is distributed throughout the mountain areas of France and Belgium. All three species are parents of the large-berried hybrids grown in European gardens for their fruit.

The black currant is a 1- 1.5 m high shrub of broadly branching habit. The twigs arc comparatively stout, greyish, and give off an unpleasant scent when cut. The buds are ovate, pale grey, on short stalks. The hermaphrodite red-green flowers appear in May. The black berries ripen in August.

They are generally dioecious, with the male and female flowers borne on separate plants. The clusters of male flowers are half as long as the female clusters. The red berries measure about 7 mm and are borne in clusters of 1-5 berries. They ripen in July and have an insipid taste.

It grows in central and southern Europe, extending northward as far as the Baltic Sea to Leningrad and southern Finland and Sweden. Requiring partial shade, it grows in damp, rocky situations in forests from hilly country to high mountain elevations above 1000 m, but will grow in poorer and drier soils. Because it stands up well to pruning it is used in gardens and parks to form low hedges and shrubbery borders. It is well propagated both by means of seeds and winter and summer cuttings.