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Ribes triste - (image 1 of 5)

Taxonomy

Family: Grossulariaceae

Habitat

Swamps, bogs, and wet woods.

Associates

 Distribution

Newfoundland west to AK, south to NJ, MI, WI, MN, and Alberta. Also in northern Asia.

Morphology

Erect, unarmed shrub. Leaves palmately veined, glabrous to softly hairy below, with 3-5 lobes, the margins toothed, the two middle sinuses deeper than the others, the lateral leaf lobes directed forward. Flowers in drooping racemes, the sepals greenish-purple, to two 2 mm long; petals smaller, 1 mm, cuneate, truncate or notched; pedicels and axis of the inflorescence often with short-stipitate glands; hypanthium saucer-shaped above the ovary. Fruit red, smooth.

Notes

Flowers June to July

Wetland indicator: Obligate

Of the four Ribes spp. that I have identified in the field, this is the only one that has reddish flowers and a short hypanthium (floral cup). The Latin tristis means sad, perhaps a reference to the unkempt appearance of this shrub.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

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