The red-flowering currant has vibrant, pink flower clusters for which the plant is named. When the berries form, they start as an inconspicuous green that blends in with the foliage. When they mature, they turn a dark blue that is coated with a white, waxy bloom.
It is a celestial life form with its frosty, cool surface. It has become peppered with cosmic freckles in its travels through the universe. This shrub could easily be called Blue Stardust berry or Blue Galaxy berry. I love the contrast between the radiant, pink flowers and the wintry-blue berry.
The field guide Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast states that the fruit is “unpalatable” or “edible but insipid.” I ate one. I found the taste to be okay, but the berries were seedy.
Resources
Pojar, Jim, and Andrew MacKinnon. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Revised ed, Lone Pine, 2004.
