 Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Occasional, generally among boulders, where the shoots emerging from the boulder crevices are much chewed by sheep as in the bottom right picture. Flower diameter c 6-8 mm. Fruit diameter c 5-10 mm Skye ID: Similar to the familiar garden Red Currant which could occur as an escape. The main difference is in the leaf sinus (the angle between the leaf edges at its base). To assess this, it's important to flatten the leaf first. On Downy Currant the angle on most leaves is very wide, usually > 90º and sometimes > 180º. On Red Currrant the angle is often < 90º and sometimes almost nil. Examine many leaves to get an average. Other features: Flowers in an upright spike which droops in fruit. In Red Currant it droops from the start. The 2 anther lobes at the end of the stamens are close together in Downy C but well separated in Red C. |
