Red Currant
Ribes rubrum
Found in persistent from cultivation and escaped to adjacent fence-rows and disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 2–5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- June to August
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 11 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
81CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ribes
- Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
- Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
- Alcathoe caudataClematis Borer, Clematis Clearwing Moth
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Apamea amputatrixYellow-Headed Cutworm Moth
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
Show all 81
- Campaea perlataPale Beauty, Fringed Looper
- Carposina fernaldanaCurrant Fruitworm Moth
- Cepphis armatariaScallop Moth
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Dichorda iridariaShowy Emerald
- Dysstroma citrataDark Marbled Carpet
- Dysstroma hersiliataOrange-Barred Carpet
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Erannis tiliariaLinden Looper Moth, Western Winter Moth, Lime Looper
- Eulithis propulsataCurrant Eulithis
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Eupsilia tristigmataThree-Spotted Sallow, Brown Fruitworm
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Hesperumia sulphurariaSulphur Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Iridopsis ephyrariaPale-Winged Gray
- Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
- Iridopsis larvariaBent-Line Gray
- Lambdina fiscellariaHemlock Looper, Western Oak Looper
- Limenitis arthemisBanded Purple, Red-Spotted Admiral
- Lithacodes fasciolaYellow-Shouldered Slug
- Lithophane baileyiBailey's Pinion
- Lithophane tepidaWarm Gray Pinion, White-Eyes Pinion
- Lophocampa maculataSpotted Tussock Moth, Yellow-Spotted Tiger Moth
- Macaria evagariaDrab Angle
- Macaria subcessariaBarred Angle, Barred Granite
- Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Nymphalis milbertiMilbert's Tortoise Shell, Fire-Rim Tortoise Shell
- Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Orthosia rubescensRuby Quaker
- Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Platypolia ancepsGray-Dusted Sallow
- Polia nimbosaStormy Arches
- Polygonia progneGray Comma
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Protoboarmia porcelariaPorcelain Gray, Dashedlined Looper
- Pseudopostega quadristrigellaGooseberry Barkminer
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Selenia alcipheariaNorthern Selenia, Northern Thorn
- Sicya maculariaSharp-Lined Yellow
- Sideridis roseaThe Rosewing
- Spaelotis clandestinaClandestine Dart, W-Marked Cutworm
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
- Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
- Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Xylena nuperaRed Swordgrass Moth, American Swordgrass Moth, False Armyworm
- Zophodia grossulariellaGooseberry Fruitworm Moth
- Acleris maccana
- Carposina ottawana
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
- Opostegoides scioterma
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
12BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ribes
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Aphelocoma californicaCalifornia Scrub-Jay
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Sialia currucoidesMountain Bluebird
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Show all 12
- Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Grossulariaceae
- Fruit begins
- June
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit begins · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “2–5 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Red Garden Currant
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications