Ribes sanguineum

Ribes sanguineum is known as the red flowering currant. It is a beautiful upright, deciduous shrub with maple- or grape-like lobed leaves that emerge at the same time or just after the arching to pendulous racemes of small pink to near red flowers in early spring. A critical BC native for hummingbirds, the northward spring migration of the rufous hummingbird follows the bloom of this currant as well as our native salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis. Butterflies also visit the flowers for nectar and to lay their eggs. Red flowering currant is a larval host for many butterfly and moth species. The purple fruit are edible but not that tasty though they are enjoyed by birds. Tolerant of shade and dry soils. Deer resistant.