 | Buffalo Currant, Clove Currant, Golden Currant, Missouri Currant Ribes aureum var. villosum (R. odoratum) Grossulariaceae Buffalo currant grows on rocky slopes and sandy bluffs in East Texas, east to Louisiana, north through Arkansas, Missouri into Minnesota and South Dakota. It is an irregular shrub with upright arching stems producing a mass of suckering growth at its base. It becomes open and floppy with age; not a tidy plant! The light bluish-green leaves resemble small maple leaves. The clove-scented, tubular, nodding golden yellow flowers on short racemes have dark pink to red central petals. Buffalo currant is widely used as an ornamental and in shelter belt plantings as wildlife food and cover. The fruits were used with buffalo meat to make pemmican. It is an alternate host to white pine blister rust and should not be planted in white pine areas.
Plant Habit or Use: small shrub
Exposure: partial sun Flower Color: yellow Blooming Period: spring Fruit Characteristics: black berries Height: 3 to 6 feet Width: 3 feet, spreading Plant Character: deciduous Heat Tolerance: high Water Requirements: Soil Requirements: adaptable Additional Comments:
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