Shrub to 3 m (9 ft) tall. Crown irregular. Bark gray to red-brown. Twigs red-brown, glabrous, puberulent when young. Leaves alternate or fascicled, simple, margins orbiculate or cuneate-ovate with 3-5 lobes, glabrous, may be puberulent beneath, light green and glossy, 1-2.5 cm (0.4-1 in) long and wide; cuneate to subcordate at base, entire or toothed near the apex. Leaves are light green and glossy. Flowers in short racemes of 5-10, with the strong fragrance of cloves; sepals 5, oblong-obovate, calyx salverform; petals 5, reddish, inserted at the top of the calyx tube; ovary 1, erect, stamens 5. Flowers appear April through June. Fruits berries, 8-10 mm (0.3-0.4 in) diameter, globose to ellipsoid, black, numerous seeds, matures June to August.
Distribution: occurs in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, north to Minnesota and South Dakota, west to the Rocky Mountains. Rare in Oklahoma; restricted to the Ouachita Mountains.
Habitat: rocky slopes and ravines.
Comment:The genus name, Ribes, is derived from the Danish word "ribs" for the red currant; the species name, curvatum, refers to the drooping twigs.
NWI status: none
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
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Last update: 9/17/99
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