Wax Currant
Ribes cereum · Grossulariaceae
- Form
- Shrub
- Height
- 2–6 ft
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Water
- Low
- Blooms
- Apr, May, Jun
- Habitat
- Sagebrush Scrub · Montane
🌿 California native
Quick facts
- Habitat: Dry Sagebrush Scrub and open Montane slopes
- Form / size: Deciduous shrub, 2–6 ft
- Sun: Full sun · Water: Low
- Blooms: Spring pink-to-whitish flowers · Pollinator value: Moderate
Description
A small mountain currant with slender twiggy stems, small lobed leaves, and clusters of pale pink to whitish flowers followed by berries. It often reads as a delicate, semi-open shrub tucked among sagebrush and rocky slopes.
Wildlife & pollinators
Flowers attract insects; berries are used by birds and other wildlife.
Habitat & range
Dry mountain and east-side shrubland from sagebrush flats up into open pine country, including the greater Mammoth and Mono Basin region.
In the garden
Useful for dry mountain-style plantings if you can give it drainage and avoid heavy summer irrigation.
Propagation
From seed or hardwood cuttings. Like other currants, it can be established from nursery stock more easily than from scratch.
Where to see it near you
- iNaturalist — observed across California (map)
- Frequent in drier Mammoth-adjacent shrublands and open mountain slopes of the Eastern Sierra.
