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Chaparral Currant

Chaparral Currant
Chaparral Currant

’Éeriniš Tíwwiš Húyya

Ribes malvaceum

Chaparral Currant

Tech icon Basketry icon Food icon Berries icon

Description

A deciduous shrub with smooth reddish bark, lobed leaves, and drooping pink flower clusters. Blooms in winter across chaparral and coastal scrub. The berries are small reddish to purple-black in color.

Traditional Native Uses

Food: Berries eaten fresh or dried infusions made from leaves or bark used for colds and sore throats. Tech, Basketry: Berries also used to produce black dye for basketry, for coloring the material used in basket making. Are the Flowers and Raw Leaves edible?