A shrub limited in distribution to the Cascade Range in southwestern Oregon is the Crater Lake currant (Ribes
erythrocarpum). The heart of its distribution is Crater Lake National Park, but this plant is found as far to the west as Rabbit Ears and
Huckleberry Mountain, then south to Four Mile Lake near Mount McLoughlin. To the east it occurs on the summit of Yamsay Mountain, a peak located beyond the Klamath Marsh.
 Mountain Ash,
Crater Lake rim, Crater Lake National Park, photo by Robert Mutch |
Some plant lists for the park have identified nine species of currants in the genus Ribesto be found within its boundaries. Crater
Lake currant is a trailing shrub with copper colored flowers and red berries. This species was first identified and described in 1896 by Frederick Coville and John Leiberg. These men
were among the first to make detailed botanical investigations in this part of Oregon. They and others found the Crater Lake currant to be common everywhere in the subalpine areas of
the park. It is the dominant shrub in the mountain hemlock forest, where its creeping stems carpet large areas, but is less abundant in the lodgepole pine thickets and infrequent among
the whitebark pines that occur near the rim [The
Crater Lake Currant]
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