Ribes alpinum L.
Eng.: Mountain currant. Spa.: Grosellero de montaña, tremoncillera, calderilla, cascalleja, cicerolas. Fre.: Gadelier alpin, groseillier des Alpes.
Shrub 0.5-1.5 m in height, dioecious, unarmed. Stems ± straight, sometimes intricate. Branches glabrous, silvery grey or pale ferruginous in colour. Leaves (0.7)1-4.5(6) cm wide, palmatifid to palmatipartite, with 3-5 scalloped lobes or incise-serrate, the central lobe attenuate at the base; cordate, truncate or rarely attenuate at the base, with long glanduliferous scattered hairs, and eglanduliferous generally shorter, although the latter sometimes may be missing. Inflorescence erect racemes, male racemes (0.8)1.5-3(3.8) cm and with up to 30 flowers; female racemes 0.5-2(2.5) cm, with 2-5(8) flowers; both types have a main axis with abundant glanduliferous hairs; bracts (2.5)3-6(6.5) mm in length, same or longer than those of the flowers, lanceolate or oblong, glandulous on the margin, rather scarious. Flowers up to 3.5 mm; pedicels similar in length, glandulous, articulated near the base. Sepals 1.5-2.5 mm, patent, oblong to spatulate, somewhat uneven, obtuse, glabrous, yellowish-green. Petals less than 1 mm, from greenish to purple. Stamens slightly longer than petals in male flowers, shorter and with anthers without pollen on the female flowers. Berry 5-7 mm, globose, glabrous, red in colour.
Flowering:
May to July.
Fruiting:
No data for this region
Habitat:
Rocks and rocky outcrops of high siliceous and limestone mountains, with high precipitation.
Distribution:
Europe (up to the Caucasus and northern Russia) and in North Africa. In the latter region, it grows in Morocco, finding refuge at 2,000-3,300 m altitude in the eastern Middle Atlas (Bu-Iblan, Guelb-er-Rahal and Tichoukt Python) and in the eastern High Atlas (Jebel Ayachi).
Conservation status:
Currently, it is not assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In North Africa it is a very rare species. In the Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc (Fennane, 2021) it has been considered as Vulnerable (VU).
