The Flowering Red Currant is a member of the gooseberry family. It grows in the form of a medium to tall shrub up to 3 m tall.
Crooked, brownish stems stand erect or lean against other shrubs in open to dense thickets. Grey to green leaves cluster on short branches arranged along the twiggy stems. Each leaf is shaped like a small, rounded maple leaf with three to five lobes and its underside is covered in fine matted hair.
It inhabits the drier portions of the south coast of British Columbia and also lurks in scattered localities in the interior of the province. It grows all over the outer Islands and I must say, it is one of my favourite flowering shrubs in my area of Campbell River. Its distribution extends southward along the coast into northern California.
This low-elevation species pop up here and there in dry open forests and forest clearings. Logged areas and roadsides are a favourite haunt, and on occasion, you may even see it growing on our local bluffs and cliffs.
The beautiful red flowers are a great attraction for people but butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees utilize it also. The plant blooms from March to May, depending on the location with masses of pale to bright pink blooms that droop in bunches at the tips of the branches.
Each flower consists of a short tube, at the mouth of which five pale to deep pink sepals and five spoon-shaped petals flare outward. Five yellow stamens crowd the opening of the floral tube, deep inside which is hidden a two-branched style and a glistening drop of nectar.
By summer, blackish berries covered in a grey-blue bloom replace the flowers. The taste of these berries varies according to individual tastes. Some describe it as bitter, others as bland and boring, yet others find it sweet and tasty. I think they taste awesome.