Ribes cereum var. cereum

Wax currant

Family: Grossulariaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Wax currant is a California native shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains, Transverse Ranges, San Jacinto Mountains, Great Basin, and Desert Mountains on dry montane to alpine slopes, among rocks, and forest edges at elevations of 875 to 2,365 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces delicate pale flowers in small clusters with wide-tipped bracts featuring several prominent teeth. Growing with an open, spreading form reaching 0.5 to 2 meters tall, it develops a multibranched structure with slender stems. Its leaves vary from nearly smooth to densely hairy, with a variable texture that can range from glabrous to prominently glandular. The shrub forms small, edible fruits that attract local wildlife in its high-elevation mountain habitats.

Habitat: dry montane to alpine slopes, among rocks, forest edges

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 875-2365 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH, Teh, TR, SnJt, GB, DMtns

California counties: Mono, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Siskiyou, Tulare, Plumas, Inyo, Riverside, Kern, Madera, Nevada, Alpine, El Dorado, Amador, Mariposa, Ventura, Placer, Shasta, Lassen, Sierra, Fresno, Tuolumne, Modoc

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