Description

Chaparral currant is native to California’s coastal mountains from Tehama County to the border with Mexico. One generally encounters it in full sun or bright shade. The form is open and rounded with many upright branches with peeling bark the color of mahogany with a waxy gloss. The leaves are round and lobed, reminiscent of maple leaves. The leaves have a rough upper surface and are covered with glandular hairs which make the leaf quite sticky. This provides an easy way to distinguish this species from the pink flowered currant, Ribes sanguineum, to which it is very similar. If the leaves are sticky, it’s a chaparral currant. Following late summer dormancy, the chaparral currant will simultaneously begin to leaf out and produce pendulous clusters of pink (sometimes white) flowers. Berries ripen by May, and are quite good for a wild berry, though seedy. The Montara Rose selection was discovered near the summit of Montara Mountain at the northern terminus of the Santa Cruz Mountains in San Mateo County. The bright pink flowers against the dark foliage make for quite a display in later winter. Some afternoon shade is advisable if grown away from the immediate coast.