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Swamp Red Currant - Ribes triste
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Ribes triste is rare in Montana, where plants are known from about 6 occurrences in the western portion of the state. Population counts are lacking, and all, but one observation has data that is 15 to 95 years old. Potential threats have not been reported. Thus, the state conservation status of Ribes triste ranges from vulnerable to imperiled based on its rarity and the lack of population data.
Revisits to all known occurrences are needed to collect data on population parameters, habitat conditions, and potential threats. In addition, the species' identification needs to be verified in the field at the Beecher Creek and the Powell County occurrences. Surveys into areas of potentially suitable habitat are also needed to better understand the species' distribution in the state.
General Description
Swamp Red Currant is a shrub that is up to 1 m tall. It has unarmed spreading to nearly prostrate, straw-colored stems that are glabrous to sparsely hairy and glandular. The alternate leaves have petioles and broadly spade-shaped blades, which are up to 10 cm wide and resemble a maple leaf. Leaves are glabrous above but sparsely hairy below. 6-13 short-stalked flowers are borne in pendant, open, spike-like inflorescences in the leaf axils. The flowers have a glabrous, saucer-shaped, purple or purple-spotted, 5-lobed calyx that is 2-3 mm long and 5 reddish-purple petals that are ca. 1 mm long. The 5 stamens are ca. as long as the petals, and the 2 glabrous styles are united below midlength. The ovary is attached inside the base of the calyx and matures into an egg-shaped, glabrous, bright red berry that is less than 1 cm long.
Phenology
Flowering in July.
Diagnostic Characteristics
There are many species of Ribes; a technical manual and hand lens are required for positive identification. Ribes hudsonianum, the other native species with unarmed stems and saucer-shaped flowers, has a glandular calyx.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
In MT in Granite County; AK to NF, south to OR, SD, and VA; Asia.
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 9
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Moist soil of forest openings in the montane to lower subalpine zones.
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Forest and Woodland
Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland
Wetland and Riparian
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Riparian Shrubland
Ecology
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus vagans,
Bombus bifarius,
Bombus centralis,
Bombus fervidus,
Bombus flavifrons,
Bombus huntii,
Bombus melanopygus,
Bombus mixtus,
Bombus nevadensis,
Bombus terricola,
Bombus sitkensis,
Bombus occidentalis,
Bombus pensylvanicus,
Bombus bimaculatus,
Bombus impatiens,
Bombus insularis, and
Bombus flavidus (Plath 1934, Thorp et al. 1983, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Koch et al. 2012, Williams et al. 2014).
Stewardship Responsibility
Threats or Limiting Factors
Reported threats to Montana's populations of Swamp Red Currant have not been identified.
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Colla, S.R. and S. Dumesh. 2010. The bumble bees of southern Ontario: notes on natural history and distribution. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 141:39-68.- Koch, J., J. Strange, and P. Williams. 2012. Bumble bees of the western United States. Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service, Pollinator Partnership. 143 p.
- MTNHP Threat Assessment. 2021. State Threat Score Assignment and Assessment of Reported Threats from 2006 to 2021 for State-listed Vascular Plants. Botany Program, Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, Montana.
- Plath, O.E. 1934. Bumblebees and their ways. New York, NY: Macmillan Company. 201 p.
- Thorp, R.W., D.S. Horning, and L.L. Dunning. 1983. Bumble bees and cuckoo bumble bees of California (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 23:1-79.
- Williams, P., R. Thorp, L. Richardson, and S. Colla. 2014. Bumble Bees of North America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 208 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
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