IMG 20230515 191702

Wild black currant flowers. They are part of the gooseberry family and were used by indigenous peoples to make pemmican, a mix of dried meat, fat and sometimes berries. Apparently the currants are not very palatable unless cooked with sugar, although I have not tasted them to find out. These were growing on the side of a path in a wooded urban area, the Upper Don Valley Ravine in Toronto. They are related to the European black currant (famed for cassis), both being in the genus Ribes.