Blackcurrant or Redcurrant: how to tell them apart?
Blackcurrant and Redcurrant look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Blackcurrant
Ribes nigrum
Redcurrant
Ribes rubrum
Redcurrant has spineless twigs like blackcurrant, but its bright red fruits in pendulous clusters clearly distinguish it; blackcurrant leaves are recognised by the characteristic resinous smell they give off when crushed.
🍃 Leaves
Palmate, 3 to 5 lobes, very aromatic and fragrant when crushed
Palmate, 3 to 5 toothed lobes, somewhat like a gooseberry leaf
🌸 Flowers
Small greenish bells tinged with pink
Small, greenish, in inconspicuous pendent racemes
🍎 Fruits
Black berries in clusters, highly aromatic
Clusters of small translucent red berries, tart
🪵 Bark
Brownish-grey, without spines
Grey-brown, thornless
📏 Size
1 to 1.5 m tall
1 to 1.5 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Moist hedgerows, often cultivated
Cool hedgerows, light woodland, often cultivated
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity; fruits edible, aromatic leaves used in herbal tea.
No known toxicity; fruits edible.
🔎 And from the Redcurrant side
Redcurrant has thornless branches like blackcurrant, but its bright red fruits in pendent racemes clearly distinguish it; blackcurrant leaves are recognised by the characteristic resinous smell they give off when crushed.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.