Flora of New Zealand Series

flowering currant

Unarmed, deciduous, moderately aromatic shrub, 1-2-(3) m high; branches and shoots erect, tomentulose or glandular hairy when young. Lvs plicately folded in bud, with petioles to c. 8 cm long, slightly clasping at base; lamina very broadly ovate or deltoid, (3)-4-8-(10) × (3.5)-4-9-(10) cm, often smaller on upper part of flowering stems, deeply palmately-lobed, with 3-5 broadly ovate, coarsely serrate lobes, glabrate or hairy, dull, somewhat rugose with impressed veins above, glabrate to hairy or sometimes tomentose below, sparsely to densely covered with almost colourless, inconspicuous glandular scales; base subcordate to deeply cordate. Racemes pendent, usually 15-many-flowered; fls not fragrant. Hypanthium 4-7 mm long, cylindric, pale pink to deep red, with scattered simple eglandular or glandular hairs. Sepals 4-6.5 mm long, ± elliptic-oblong, pale pink to deep red, glabrous or with simple or glandular hairs, reflexed at anthesis. Petals 3-5 mm long, spathulate or obovate, white ageing pink to rose. Filaments 1-2.5 mm long. Fr. 5-7 mm diam., globose, black, opaque and usually with a whitish bloom, ± glandular; flesh with little taste.

N.: Hutt Valley; S.: Marlborough to Southland, mainly in drier areas, especially on the Port Hills, Canterbury, the Waitaki Valley and the Queenstown area.

Western N. America 1904

Roadsides, gullies, hillsides in scrub, conifer plantations, disturbed or secondary forest, waste ground in old mining settlements in C. Otago.

FL Aug-Nov FT Nov-Mar.

R. sanguineum is commonly cultivated for its early spring fls in colder parts of the country and is a common and sometimes aggressive escape in eastern parts of the South Id. Some variation in fl. colour occurs in wild plants but usually the fls are pale, whereas in gardens cvs with deep rose or crimson fls are often grown.

Flowering currant is sometimes known as R. glutinosum in N.Z. and elsewhere, but this is usually considered to be a var. of R. sanguineum now. Wild N.Z. plants vary from those with eglandular hairs as in R. sanguineum sens. strict., to those with numerous glandular hairs as is said to be characteristic of var. glutinosum (Benth.) Loudon.