About

The red currant (Ribes rubrum) belongs to the genus Ribes which is a member of the gooseberry family. Red currants are indigenous to Western Europe. Nowadays red currants are cultivated extensively and also appear in the wild in many areas.

Red currant is a deciduous shrub which develops into 1–1.5 metres (3.3–4.9 ft) high (occasionally the shrubs grows to 2 metres or 7 ft). Its leaves are five-lobed and are arranged in a spiral form on the stem. The flowers the shrub produces are a yellow-green colour, and develop in pendulous racemes (4–8 cm or 2–3 inch) and later on into bright red, translucent edible berries. In terms of production volume, an full grown shrub produces up to 3–4 kilograms (7–9 lbs) of berries from mid to late summer each year.