Ribes viburnifolium

Santa catalina island currant, Santa Catalina Island Currant

Family: Grossulariaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Santa catalina island currant is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in southern Channel Islands, specifically Santa Catalina Island, and southwestern Peninsular Ranges in chaparral and forest openings at elevations of 30 to 600 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces distinctive red petals in small flower clusters with brown sepals. Growing under one meter tall with erect or arched stems, it features smooth branches without nodal spines. Its evergreen leaves are leathery, two to four centimeters long, obovate in shape with a dark green upper surface and yellow-glandular undersides. The fruit is a small, glossy red berry approximately five to six millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Chaparral, forest openings

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 30-600 m

Bioregions: s ChI (Santa Catalina Island), sw PR

California counties: Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara

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