Red Flowering Currant Photos by Pat Breen, Oregon State University

Lushootseed Name Red Flowering Currant:  p’uq  (Click Here to Listen)

Scientific Name:  Ribes sanguineum

Pronunciation:  ri-BEEZ san-gwin-EE-um

Red Flowering Currant Drawings by Lucia Harrison

Red Flowering Currant is a deciduous multi-stemmed shrub that grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.  It prefers sun or partial shade and well-drained soil. It can be planted free standing or as a hedge.  Think about how hedges allow wildlife to move more freely or provide shelter from predators.  You will need to water Red Flowering Currant during the summer for the first 2-5 years.

Close-up of Red Flowering Currant Flowers Drawing by Lucia Harrison

It’s beautiful pink flowers bloom in early spring.  Rufous Hummingbirds sip nectar from the flowers when they complete their long migration from Mexico to nest in the Pacific Northwest.   As the climate warms and people have feeders, a different species, Annas Hummingbirds live here year-round.  Bees also love the nectar in the flowers.

  • Photo by Luke McGuff
  • Photo by James Gaither
Images of Red Flowering Currant forming buds and flowers
Flowering Red Flowering Currant Plant Drawing by Lucia Harrison
Pat Breen, Oregon State University has captured how the flowers form fruits.

Look at how the flowers form fruit called currants.

From Flower to Fruit Drawing by Lucia Harrison

The leaves feed Zephyr and other butterfly larvae.  Deer browse the twigs and leaves.

Close up Fruit on Red Flowering Currant Drawing by Lucia Harrison

These currants feed grouse, pheasants, American Robins, Spotted Towhees, thrushes, Cedar Waxwings, sparrows, Steller’s Jays and woodpeckers.  Squirrels, chipmunks and racoons also eat the berries.

Photo by Pat Breen, Oregon State University
Red Flowering Currant Plant Fruiting Drawing by Lucia Harrison
Close up of Red Flowering Currant Leaves in Fall Drawing by Lucia Harrison

The golden autumn leaves often stay on the plant into the winter providing beautiful foliage.

Photo by Pat Breen, Oregon State University
Red Flowering Currant Plant in Fall Drawing by Lucia Harrison

Fore More information about Red Flowering Currants, visit the Washington Native Plant Society’s Starflower Image Herbarium.

Another good resource is the Oregon State University’s Landscape Plants Website    https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/ribes-sanguineum

To see a Red Flowering Currant, go to the Tacoma Metro Parks Native Plant Garden at Point Defiance Park.  Click here for directions, a walking guide and information.  https://www.metroparkstacoma.org/place/northwest-native-garden/

Another good place is Wapato Park in Tacoma.  Click here for information.  https://www.metroparkstacoma.org/place/wapato-park/