''Ribes spicatum'', the downy currant or Nordic currant, is a species in the genus ''

Ribes ''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible ...

'', native to northern Europe and northern Asia. Its bright red berries are edible and quite goodtasting. It can be differentiated from the more common redcurrant (''

Ribes rubrum The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the Grossulariaceae, gooseberry family. It is Indigenous (ecology), native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has garden refugee, escaped ...

'') not so much by its leaf hairs, as these tend to fall off as the leaf ages, but by other characteristics: the leaves of ''R.spicatum'' are a duller and darker green than ''R.rubrum'' with its paler yellowishgreen leaves. ''R.spicatum'' holds its leaves at a right angle to the stem, whereas ''R.rubrum'' leaves are less erect, markedly distinguishing the overall form of the bushes. ''R.spicatum'' has green petioles, but ''R.rubrum'' petioles are more orangeish.

Subspecies

The following subspecies is currently accepted: *''Ribes spicatum'' subsp. ''hispidulum'' (Janch.) L.Hämet-Ahti

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q149485 spicatum Plants described in 1796