Botanical atlas

American Black Currant

Ribes americanum

Long before orchards and jam jars, the small dark berries of the American black currant were gathered by Ojibwe, Cree, and other northern peoples, eaten fresh off the bush, dried for winter stores, or pounded into pemmican alongside meat and fat. The leaves were steeped into a tea used to settle the stomach and were also given to women around the time of childbirth, a practice passed carefully from one generation of herbalists to the next. Because the shrub grows wild and generously along creek banks and shaded fence lines, it became one of the reliable, unassuming plants a household could count on each summer. Its tart berries later found their way into settler kitchens, turned into syrups, jellies, and cordials that stretched a short harvest season into months of use.

Safety.

The berries are a safe, traditional food, but the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts, and because leaves were traditionally used around childbirth, they are best avoided during pregnancy.