Black currant bush

Justamum

I have a bush in the garden which looks like a blackcurrant bush, so I've been picking the berries and freezing them for making into jam when I have enough. I was just in someone's garden and remarked on their blackcurrant bush, but she said it was a 'barren currant' and was poisonous. Now I'm a bit worried that mine might be poisonous. Trouble is I can't find any information on a barren currant. Has anybody heard of it?

Kay_Peel

Don't worry. Your neighbour was probably referring to a shrub called Ribes, the Flowering Currant.



It looks and smells like a blackcurrant in Summer. It even produces little currants. The main difference is that it has stunning pink pungent flowers in Spring and the currants don't look much.

You can tell a blackcurrant by its long trusses of shiny glossy black-purple fruit and the fact that its flowers aren't much to write home about.

Justamum

Kay_Peel wrote: »

Don't worry. Your neighbour was probably referring to a shrub called Ribes, the Flowering Currant.



It looks and smells like a blackcurrant in Summer. It even produces little currants. The main difference is that it has stunning pink pungent flowers in Spring and the currants don't look much.

You can tell a blackcurrant by its long trusses of shiny glossy black-purple fruit and the fact that its flowers aren't much to write home about.

Excellent, thank you! I've definitely got a blackcurrant then. I assume the plant my friend thought was the ribes is a real blackcurrant then because it's full of black berries.

I knew I'd find the answer on these boards!