Redcurrant

Red currant ( Ribes rubrum)

The Red currant ( Ribes rubrum) or Garden Currant, Red Currant called in Austria, is a species of the genus of currants (Ribes ) in the family of gooseberry plants ( Grossulariaceae ).

The horticultural sector from the Red currant often distinct white currant is just a color variant of the red currant.

• 7.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The Red Currant is reached, an upright, deciduous shrub without spines, the stature heights of 1 to 2 meters. The bark of young branches is slightly hairy and covered with glands. The bark of older branches is reddish - brown to gray-black. The egg-shaped buds have loose bud scales and have a length of 5 to 7 mm.

The change-constant leaves are simple. The rounded outline of the leaf blade is 4 to 10 inches long and 3-7 inches wide. It is three-to five-lobed and cordate at the base, the lobes are blunt and rough sawn edge. The lower leaf surface is hairy kurzflaumig in youth, later glabrous. The petiole is about as long as the leaf blade with 3-6 cm and as pure green. The reason of the petioles is usually glabrous or rarely occupied with long, loose hair and glands individual sessile glands.

Generative features

The flowering period extends from April to May In a racemose inflorescence with a bare inflorescence axis are four to eight flowers together. The flower stalk is 3-5 mm long.

The hermaphrodite, fivefold flower has a diameter of 6 to 8 mm and is greenish - yellow or reddish in color. Inside the wheel-shaped flowers outstretched cup is a pentagonal, raised ring. The five fused sepals are glabrous, greenish or brownish- colored, red dotted part, spatulate and about twice as long as the petals. The cup tube is 1 to 1.5 mm long, and the peaks are upright cup 2 to 2.5 mm long. The five yellow to purple petals are 0.5 to 1 mm long. It's just a circle with five fertile stamens present, which are at least as long as the petals. The anthers halves are separated by the elongated stamens and slightly spread. The stylus is also at least as long as the petals and is bilobed.

The smooth, spherical berries usually have a diameter of 6 to 11 mm on, are round, red or white, sometimes pink, translucent and contain numerous seeds. On the berry of the cup is still clearly visible. The berries are edible, juicy and have a sour taste.

The chromosome number is n = 8

Ecology

The Red Currant is a Nanophanerophyt.

Biologically flowers is " nectar Leading disk flowers ". Pollination is particularly by Hymenoptera.

Occurrence

The red currant is used in almost all of Europe. Wild, it occurs only in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, the rest of Europe it has run wild from culture. It is very rare to find in lowland forests, ravines, thickets and along creeks. It prefers wet, clayey soil.

System

There are two varieties:

• Wild Red Currant ( Ribes rubrum L. var rubrum): the wild clan of the garden currant. It forms Kriechsprosse out, the leaves are on the upper side often something shiny and netzrunzelig and the berries are small.
• Red Garden Currant ( Ribes rubrum var domesticum Wallr. ): It is the cultural form. It is not uncommon for neophyte.

The spiked currant ( Ribes spicatum Robson in With., 1796 ) is a closely related species, which is native to northern Europe and Siberia, by some taxonomists, it is regarded as a subspecies of Ribes rubrum. This type is involved in some cultivars of Red Currant ( crossed ). Very rarely it is wild.

Synonyms for Ribes rubrum L. are: Ribes scandicum Hedlund, Ribes sylvestre Syme.

Culture

The red currant is in culture since the 15th century. Today's varieties go on intersections with the rock - currant ( Ribes petraeum ) back. They will be happy gepfroft on the gold - currant ( Ribes aureum ) and ennobled by it. They are wild and naturalized in part.

Use

The Red Currant is a popular garden plant because of its fruit. The fruits are often eaten raw or manifold used for example as jelly or juice, as well as an important ingredient for Red berry cream in the kitchen. In the beekeeping Red currants are ( 16-31 %) and its high sugar value ( up to 0.7 mg sugar / day per flower) an estimated Besides costume due to the high sugar content of their nectar.