The genus Ribes includes the species that provide red, white and blackcurrants, also showy species of spring flowering shrubs that are found in many gardens.

Ribes longeracemosum tucked away on the south border is an uncommon plant. A vigorous deciduous shrub whose individual flowers may be insignificant but these sit like a string of pearls on the stalk hanging 400mm in length. In effect a long raceme as the name describes.

An elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers. The bell shaped flower has frayed reddish edges to the tube. Looking into the corolla, the anthers are set on a twist and the formation of these resembles an aeroplane engine fan.

Harking back to the first sentence the mature plants observed in Sichuan Province, China were said to have black juicy fruit. Growing at c. 2600m in deciduous forest.

Ribes longeracemosum

Ribes longeracemosum

Ribes longeracemosum

Ribes longeracemosum