This description provides characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology, and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available [2,20,30,32,39]
Swamp red currant is a low, straggling shrub [30,42,50,50,67,71,74,82,83], 1.3 to 3.2 feet (0.4-1.0 m) tall [2,32,50,71]. Stems are reclining [32,67,83] and branches layer at lower nodes [32,42,50,71,82]. Leaves are alternate, simple, 3- to 5-lobed [2,32,50,74,82], and softly hairy beneath [2,30,74]. The inflorescence is a 5- to 20-flowered drooping raceme [30,32,50,74,82], saucer-like [30,83], and 1.2 to 3.5 inches (3-9 cm) long [2,32]. Fruits are berries, 0.2 to 0.4 inch (0.6-1.0 cm) long [32,50,82], globose [32,74], smooth [13,32,71,74], and many-seeded [32]. Seeds are oval, flattened, 0.08 to 0.12 inch long, 0.08 inch wide and 0.08 inch thick [74]. Swamp red currant probably has a root crown [37] similar to other Ribes spp.; however, information on this subject was unavailable in the literature.
Fire adaptations: Swamp red currant may regenerate via a root crown [37], based on general patterns of asexual regeneration by woody species; however, information specific to swamp red currant is not available in the literature. The seeds of swamp red currant are stored in the soil [37,85].
FIRE REGIMES: Coniferous forests of interior Alaska are particularly liable to destruction by fire due to long hours of sunshine during the summer, low precipitation, and high air temperatures. Heavy growth of lichens and mosses provide fuel for fires in the summer when very dry. Fires were set by Native Americans in early times to increase the quality of hunting, as a means to communicate, and as smudge fires for relief from mosquitoes. By 1896, gold was discovered by settlers, increasing the population dramatically. Between 1898 and 1940, an average of at least 1 million acres (404,687 ha) was burned each year, mainly due to highway and railroad construction, as well as to increase grass for forage, to kill mosquitoes and to make prospecting easier [55].
Fires were common in areas of the temperate forests of the northeastern United States where swamp red currant occurs before European settlers arrived. Native Americans used fire for more than 1,000 years to clear land and drive game, maintaining a mosaic of seral stages. Fires may have burned at intervals of 3 years or less on dry forest sites and intervals of 100 years on wetter forested sites where swamp red currant is found. After European settlers arrived, fire was used to clear land to encourage quick growth of grass for livestock. Over time, states attempted to control fire. Since the 1950s, fire has has become relatively rare in spruce-fir forests of the northeastern United States [53].
The following table provides fire return intervals for plant communities and ecosystems where red swamp currant is important. Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".
Community or ecosystem Dominant species Fire return interval range (years) maple-beech Acer-Fagus spp. 684-1,385 [16,84] sugar maple Acer saccharum >1,000 sugar maple-basswood Acer saccharum-Tilia americana >1,000 [84] birch Betula spp. 80-230 [76] beech-sugar maple Fagus spp.-Acer saccharum >1,000 black ash Fraxinus nigra 84] tamarack Larix laricina 35-200 [63] yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera <35 [84] Great Lakes spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to >200 northeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35-200 black spruce Picea mariana 35-200 conifer bog* Picea mariana-Larix laricina 35-200 red spruce* Picea rubens 35-200 [22] jack pine Pinus banksiana 16,22] Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine* Pinus contorta var. latifolia 25-340 [5,6,77] red pine (Great Lakes region) Pinus resinosa 3-18 ( x=10) [15,27] red-white pine* (Great Lakes region) Pinus resinosa-P. strobus 3-200 [16,36,54] eastern white pine-eastern hemlock Pinus strobus-Tsuga canadensis 35-200 [84] quaking aspen-paper birch Populus tremuloides-Betula papyrifera 35-200 [22,84] quaking aspen (west of the Great Plains) Populus tremuloides 7-120 [3,33,58] eastern hemlock-yellow birch Tsuga canadensis-Betula alleghaniensis 100-240 [76,84] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species reviewSwamp red currant is found growing in rich, damp, and poorly-drained deciduous and coniferous woods [20,62,67,71,83], margins of bogs [30,32,50,71,74], lakeshores [74], and stream banks [42,71]. Swamp red currant is a plant indicator for the white spruce/balsam fir forest type in the Lake States [68].
Elevation: Swamp red currant grows from the lowlands to timberline in Alaska [42]. Further information about elevation is unavailable.
Soil: Swamp red currant grows in well-drained to somewhat poorly-drained moist to wet soil [13,32,39,47,50,74,83]. In the lowlands of northern Wisconsin, it can be found growing in black spruce bogs composed of peat moss, with a pH of 4.5, and in northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) swamps composed of compacted coarse wood peat [14]. In the white spruce-flood plain habitat of Alaska, swamp red currant grows on well-drained alluvial soils [23]. In mixed-boreal forest types in southwest Quebec, it is more commonly found on clay than till deposits [51].
Climate: Climate varies throughout the range of swamp red currant. In Canada and Alaska, swamp red currant grows in cool, humid microthermal climates with cold, dry winters and warm, wet summers [21,24]. In southern Alaska, it grows in maritime climates on ocean-facing slopes [40]. In the Lake States, swamp red currant grows in a continental climate [31,62].
Ribes spp. are typically eaten by livestock and wild animals; however, information about the importance of swamp red currant as forage is unavailable.
Palatability/nutritional value: The browse value of Ribes spp. is typically poor to fair for livestock [18,79]. Ribes spp. have considerable nutritional value for songbirds, rodents, small and large nongame mammals and hoofed browsers [57,79]. In studies in Alaska, the fruits of swamp red currant were eaten by black bears [35] and moose [52] during summer months.
Cover value: No information is available on this topic.
Swamp red currant is listed as a codominant in the following cover and habitat
types:
Alberta
White spruce (Picea glauca)- quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)/swamp
red currant cover type [49]
North America
Prickly rose (Rosa acicularis)-swamp red currant/naked miterwort (Mitella
nuda)-tall bluebells (Mertensia paniculata) habitat type in boreal
white spruce-balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea
mariana) forests [48].
Ribes triste var. alaskanum and Ribes triste var. propinquum are cultivated garden varieties [71,83].
The fruits of swamp red currant can be eaten raw [38,82] and are utilized by the Eskimo of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic regions of Alaska [1]. Jams and jellies can be made from the fruits [38,82,83].
Swamp red currant can be used to address urinary and gynecological problems [44].
Swamp red currant probably regenerates vegetatively [37]; however, information specific to swamp red currant was not available in the literature. Swamp red currant regenerates from seed [37,85].
Pollination: Flowers of Ribes spp. are often wind pollinated [64].
Breeding system: Flowers of swamp red currant are perfect [66] which makes swamp red current monoecious.
Seed production: Ribes spp. generally produce seeds when 3 to 5 years old [7]
Seed dispersal: Seeds of Ribes spp. are dispersed almost entirely by mammals and birds during the summer and fall [64].
Seed banking: The seeds of Ribes spp. remain viable in the soil for "long periods of time" [56,64,72,73].
Germination: Wright [86] claims that the germination of the seeds of Ribes spp. are stimulated by fire, but provides no data. Seeds normally germinate in the spring following dispersal [64].
In a study by Nichols [60], 100 swamp red currant seeds were planted in sterilized soil and placed outdoors in a cold frame for a refrigeration period of 71 to 112 days. Another box of 100 seeds was kept in a greenhouse and germination rates were compared. The number of germinating swamp red currant seeds was greater and quicker without refrigeration [60]:
Number of seeds germinating Number of days required for germination After refrigeration 69 169-277 Without refrigeration 73 41-125
Seedling establishment/growth: No information is available on this topic.
Asexual regeneration: Heinselman [37] states that woody genera regenerate asexually via a root crown; however, he does not specifically mention Ribes spp. Swamp red currant does regenerate by layering [32,42,50,71,82].
Swamp red currant is shade-tolerant [26,47] and occurs from pioneer to climax stages across its range [8,9,29,31,45,55,70,81].
In Itasca County, Minnesota, swamp red currant was found growing in the pioneer stage of a highland hardwood burn of unknown intensity. Before the burn, climax hardwoods included balsam fir, basswood (Tilia americana), red oak (Quercus rubra), sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) [31].
In interior Alaska, swamp red currant occurred in an early postfire successional stage dominated by paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and in a climax community dominated by white spruce. The intensity of the fires is unknown [55].
In mixed-boreal forests of eastern Canada, swamp red currant grows in early successional stages. It was found growing in the 1st postfire successional stage, dominated by quaking aspen, paper birch, and jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and the 2nd postfire successional stage, dominated by balsam fir and northern white-cedar [8,9].
In boreal black spruce forests of British Columbia, swamp red currant occurs in a mid-seral stage dominated by black and white spruce and meadow horsetail (Equisetum pratense) [45].
In western Labrador, Simon and Schwab [70] measured the abundance of swamp red currant on black spruce sites that burned 2, 18, and 40 years ago, as well as 80 and 140-year-old dry and wet nonburned sites. Swamp red currant reached the highest abundance on the oldest, wet sites. These sites were dominated by paper birch, with water that continuously seeped through the soil [70]:
Age of site (years) 2 18 40 80 140 dry site 140 wet site
Abundance (mean canopy volume, m³)
1.84 0.41 0.00 0.00 0.15 7.88In northern Michigan, swamp red currant occurred in the American beech (Fagus grandifolia)/sugar maple successional stage 20-25 years following fire of unknown intensity in a quaking aspen forest [29].
In 5 Chena River stands in the boreal forest of interior Alaska, swamp red currant was present in late stages of succession [81]:
Cover type Alaska willow (Salix alaxensis) (0-50 years old) Balsam poplar (50 years old) White spruce (120 years old) White spruce/black spruce (200 years old) Black spruce/Sphagnum spp. (120 years old) Frequency (%) 0 0 30 80 10 Cover (%) 0 0 2 3 1
The scientific name of swamp red currant is Ribes triste Pallas (Grossulariaceae)
[44]. There are 3 recognized varieties:
R.t. var. alaskanum (Berger) Boivin [44,71]
R.t. Pallas var. albinervium (Michx.) Fern. [44,67]
R.t. var. propinquum (Turcz.), Trautv. & C.A. Mey. [44,71,83]
Information about swamp red currant is sparse, so some information about Ribes spp.
is used in this review. When specific information about swamp red currant is used, it will be identified.
Ribes triste, known as the northern redcurrant,[2] swamp redcurrant, or wild redcurrant,[3] is an Asian and North American shrub in the gooseberry family. It is widespread across Canada and the northern United States, as well as in eastern Asia (Russia, China, Korea, Japan).[4][5]
Ribes triste grows in wet rocky woods, swamps, and cliffs. It grows to 50 cm (20 in) tall, with a lax, often creeping branches. The leaves are alternate, palmately lobed with five lobes, 6–10 cm (2+1⁄4–4 in) in diameter. The flowers are in pendulous racemes, 4–7 cm (1+1⁄2–2+3⁄4 in) long. The axis of the raceme is glandular. Each raceme bears 6-13 small, purplish flowers that appear in June and July. The fruit is a bright red berry, without the hairs that some currants have. The fruit is edible but rather sour.[6]
It is listed as endangered in Connecticut[7] and Ohio, and as threatened in Pennsylvania.[8]
Ribes is listed a plant pest in Michigan and the planting of it in certain parts of the state is prohibited.[8]
Alaska Natives use the fruit as food, eating it raw, and making the berries into jam and jellies.[9] Eskimos eat the berries[10] and the Inupiat eat them raw or cooked, mix them with other berries which are used to make a traditional dessert. They also mix the berries with rosehips and highbush cranberries and boil them into a syrup.[11] The Iroquois mash the fruit, make them into small cakes, and store them for future use. They later soak the fruit cakes in warm water and cooked them a sauce or mixed them with corn bread. They also sun dry or fire dry the raw or cooked fruit for future use and take the dried fruit with them as a hunting food.[12] The Ojibwe eat the berries raw, and also preserve them by cooking them, spreading them on birch bark into little cakes, which are dried and stored for winter use.[13] In the winter, they often eat the berries with cooked with sweet corn. They also use the berries to make jams and preserves.[14] The Upper Tanana eat the berries as food.[15]
The Ojibwe take a decoction of the root and stalk for 'gravel',[16] and take a compound decoction of the stalk for 'stoppage of periods',[17] and use the leaves as a 'female remedy'.[18] The Upper Tanana use a decoction of the stems, without the bark, as a wash for sore eyes.[15]
Ribes triste, known as the northern redcurrant, swamp redcurrant, or wild redcurrant, is an Asian and North American shrub in the gooseberry family. It is widespread across Canada and the northern United States, as well as in eastern Asia (Russia, China, Korea, Japan).
Ribes triste grows in wet rocky woods, swamps, and cliffs. It grows to 50 cm (20 in) tall, with a lax, often creeping branches. The leaves are alternate, palmately lobed with five lobes, 6–10 cm (2+1⁄4–4 in) in diameter. The flowers are in pendulous racemes, 4–7 cm (1+1⁄2–2+3⁄4 in) long. The axis of the raceme is glandular. Each raceme bears 6-13 small, purplish flowers that appear in June and July. The fruit is a bright red berry, without the hairs that some currants have. The fruit is edible but rather sour.
