Northern Black Currant vs Grouseberry - TreeTime.ca

Northern Black Currant vs Grouseberry

Vaccinium scoparium

Ribes hudsonianum

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Grouseberry
Northern Black Currant

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 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 Quick Facts

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

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


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


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