Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Mediterranean chaparral

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Uncommon

About

A spiny California native shrub that produces clusters of brilliant crimson, fuchsia-like flowers in winter and early spring, making it one of the first nectar sources for hummingbirds each year. Its dangling scarlet blooms and deep-green glossy leaves are a striking combination along coastal chaparral and oak woodland edges.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Saxifragales

Family

Grossulariaceae

Genus

Ribes

Species

Ribes speciosum