Ribes cereum

Wax currant

Family: Grossulariaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Wax currant is a native shrub found in western North American mountain ranges in rocky, open woodlands and chaparral at elevations from 1,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces delicate white to pale pink flowers in small clusters of 3 to 7 blossoms. Growing as a compact shrub less than 1.5 meters tall with smooth, slender branches, it features distinctively spicy-scented leaves. Its rounded leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters wide, glossy on the upper surface, with shallow lobes and fine teeth around the margins. The fruit is a smooth, bright red berry approximately 6 to 7 millimeters in diameter, adding ornamental interest to the plant's winter landscape.

California counties: San Bernardino, Lassen, Los Angeles, Mono, Inyo, Riverside, Fresno, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, El Dorado, Plumas, Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta, Madera, Placer, Alpine, Kern, Nevada, Butte, Amador, Sierra, Orange, Mariposa, Tehama, Glenn, Trinity, San Luis Obispo, San Diego

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.