// SPECIES PROFILE · SHRUB · NATIVE

Golden Currant

Ribes odoratum

Golden currant is a thornless native currant with intensely clove-fragrant yellow trumpet flowers in early spring, followed by edible black-purple berries in midsummer. One of the few native currants well-adapted to the southern Great Plains.

// QUICK FACTS

Family: Grossulariaceae
Group: shrub
Native range: Great Plains incl. OK riparian zones
USDA hardiness: Zones 4–8
Mature size: 5–8 ft
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium · adaptable
Wildlife value: Hummingbird and bumblebee nectar; songbird fruit
Ecological role: fragrant yellow spring bloom · edible berries · prairie native

Golden Currant (Ribes odoratum) — *Ribes odoratum*. Photo via Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons.

Field Notes

[ growing · ecology · siting · care ]

Why it's on this list: fragrant yellow spring bloom · edible berries · prairie native. Part of Rooted Revival's NE Oklahoma plant catalog — natives, ecologically positive non-invasive cultivars, and food crops worth growing in the Tulsa region.

Companion Planting

[ guild · polyculture · cross-layer pairings ]

In a multi-layered food-forest guild, golden currant pairs naturally with: black cherry (Prunus serotina), maypop / passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), and american beautyberry (Callicarpa americana).

Site golden currant on the woodland edge or in the mid-layer of a guild beneath taller canopy trees.

Photo Reference

// Ribes odoratum — natural habitat
Photo: brandoncorder (iNaturalist, CC BY)

// Ribes odoratum — flower & foliage
Photo: docprt (iNaturalist, CC BY-NC)

// Ribes odoratum — habit
Photo: docprt (iNaturalist, CC BY-NC)

// Ribes odoratum — field view
Photo: docprt (iNaturalist, CC BY-NC)