Red-flowering currant is one of the early bloomers among the native shrubs of the lower forests and canyons around Mt. Hood. In some years it starts flowering in February, hanging drooping clusters of 10 to 20 or more small flowers from its branches in shades from pale pink to deep rose.
Bumblebees, other bees and hummingbirds visit the flowers and carry pollen from bloom to bloom. Later in the season the flower clusters give way to round, blue-black berries dusted with a whitish bloom.
The shrub has no spines or prickles at all. Its rounded leaves have five shallow lobes and fine teeth, with a paler, softer underside, and the leaves and young stems are dotted with tiny glands. The bark is reddish brown. It is also a popular garden shrub, prized for flowering so early, and it grows well in sun.
In the wild, look for it in open woods, along forest edges and in valleys and lower mountain slopes, on sites that range from moist to fairly dry. Its native range runs from British Columbia to California, mostly west of the Cascade crest. Early spring hikes in the lower forest, before most shrubs have leafed out, are the easiest time to spot its pink clusters from the trail.
How to identify it
An upright, spineless shrub 3 to 10 feet tall with reddish-brown bark. Leaves are rounded, about 1 to 2.5 inches wide, with five shallow lobes, fine teeth and a paler, hairier underside. In early spring it bears hanging clusters of small pink to deep rose flowers, followed by round, blue-black berries with a whitish bloom.
Habitat
Open woods, forest edges and moist to fairly dry valleys and lower mountain slopes, mainly west of the Cascade crest from British Columbia to California.
Sightings in the forest
482 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on July 17, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →