Index / Search / Ribes aureum

§1 Plant — species · Grossulariaceae

Ribes aureum Pursh

vernacular golden currant


USDA
RIAU
GBIF
2986111
Rank
species
golden currant (Ribes aureum)
Platephotograph · joevericaCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Grossulariaceae DC.
Genus
Ribes
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
Low
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
High
Hedging
High
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
150 min.
Precipitation
12–20 in/yr
pH range
6–8
Root depth
20 in min.
Fertility need
High
Soil texture
medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
10 ft
Height @ 20 y
10 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Red
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
268,545
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
High
Graze palatability
Medium
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
Medium
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 35 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/RIAU ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2986111 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z