Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Chaparral Currant
Ribes malvaceum
  
About Chaparral Currant (Ribes malvaceum) 44 Nurseries Carry This Plant Ribes malvaceum, called "chaparral currant", is a member of the Grossulariaceae (gooseberry family). It is endemic to California. It occurs below 1500 meter in chaparral, foothill oak woodland, and closed-cone pine forest ranging from Baja California to the San Francisco Bay area and inner Northern Coastal Ranges. Less than 2 meters tall, this perennial shrub lacks the characteristic nodal spines which are demonstrated on the stems of many other members in the genus Ribes. The leaf blades (20-50 millimeter) are densely hairy and double toothed. Bright pink flowers produce edible purple berries.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
5 - 8 ft tall
5 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous, Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Pink, Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed , 76 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 34 - 96° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Medium and coarse, dry. Soil PH: 5.8 - 8.2

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Maintenance
Maintenance
Prune during dry season or after fruiting. Avoid cutting into old wood.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Oak woodlands, closed cone pine forests, chaparral

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 8.6" - 62.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.66", Coldest Month: 30.5" - 57.4", Hottest Month: 50.4" - 83.3", Humidity: 0.04" - 34.12", Elevation: -247" - 10031"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In