santa catalina island currant

Ribes viburnifolium is a perennial shrub which grows low to the ground, extending long reddish stems horizontally. The leaves are dark green and shiny on their top surfaces, and lighter green or yellowish and leathery on the undersides. The leaves have glands which exude a sticky, citrus-scented sap. Clusters of deep red flowers bloom in late winter and into early spring. The plant yields small red fruits later in the spring. The red fruit attracts birds. The flowers attract hummingbirds and insects.

Ribes viburnifolium is native to the coast of Baja California and Southern California, from Smuggler's Canyon in the Tijuana Hills of San Diego County to El Rosario in central Baja California. The probable type locality is near Ensenada, from a 1882 collection by Marcus E. Jones. R. viburnifolium is also present on several islands in the region, including Catalina Island and Todos Santos in the Southern California Bight, and Cedros Island farther to the south off of the Vizcaino Peninsula. A persistent population from a planting exists in San Clemente Canyon, San Diego County.