Ribes nigrum
Ribes nigrum L.
Saxifragaceae – Saxifrage family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2ab(iv,v); D]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Deciduous shrub. Stems up to 1–1.5(2) m, spineless; young branches pale green, pubescent. Leaves 3–10 cm long, 5–10(12) cm wide, palmate, 3- or 5-lobed, dentate, subglabrous above, with sparse hairs and numerous sessile, aromatic glands beneath; petioles 3–5 cm, densely pubescent. Inflorescences 3–5(8) cm long, drooping, with 5–10 flowers. Bracts pale green. Sepals elliptical, densely pubescent, with greenish to brownish green glands. Petals elliptical, whitish. Fruit globose, up to 12 mm in diameter; black. Seeds ovate, brown. Fl. V–VI, fr. VII–VIII. Requires high air and soil humidity. Reproduction by seeds (poorly effective) and vegetative means (with shoots).
Habitats and populations. Occurs in stony and sandy places by streams and small rivers, wet places in the coniferous forests belt. Population is small, fragmented, in Western Rhodopi Mts with not more than 25–30 individuals, growing mainly individually.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Rhodopi Mts (western – Beglika locality, near Beglika dam, valleys of Dospat and Chehlyovska Rivers, central – Chepelarska River); from 700 to 1800 m alt.
General distribution. C, E and N Europe, Siberia, C Asia.
Threats. Fruit collecting for food; changes of stream and river water regimes due to wood cutting and water capture.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. Some individuals grow on the territory of Beglika Strict Nature Reserve and in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Elaboration of an action plan for species conservation; monitoring of population state and reproductive potential; GPS-location and mapping of all known occurrences; restriction of human activities in the species localities; ex situ propagation and cultivation of the species, and if necessary, re-introduction of the taxon to its natural habitats.
References. Stojanov & Stefanov 1948; Delipavlov 1964; Kuzmanov 1970; Markova 1984; Vladimirov et al. 2006.
Author: Antonina Vitkova
