Northern Black Currant vs Grouseberry - TreeTime.ca

Northern Black Currant vs Grouseberry

Ribes hudsonianum

Vaccinium scoparium

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Northern Black Currant
Grouseberry

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.
This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

Grouseberry is a native, low-growing deciduous shrub known for its edible red berries. In early summer, it produces small, urn-shaped flowers ranging from white to pink that attract bees and other pollinators. The berries provide an important food source for many types of wildlife, including game birds such as grouse, which gives the plant its common name. People can also enjoy the berries fresh or in baked goods, though they can be difficult to harvest in large quantities.

Spreading by rhizomes, Grouseberry forms dense, broom-like mats that help stabilize soil and prevent erosion, while also providing cover for ground-nesting wildlife. It is commonly found beneath conifers in open forests, subalpine meadows, and occasionally on rocky slopes in mountainous regions. It is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and soil stabilization projects.

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Grouseberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Growth form: low growing, colony-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: reddish
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Flowers: small pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Bloom time: spring
Berries: black, edible
Berries: small, bright red, edible
Flavor: bitter
Flavor: tart
Harvest: mid to late summer
Harvest: summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: dwarf red whortleberry, grouse whortleberry, little-leaved huckleberry, red alpine blueberry, small-leaved huckleberry