Ribes sanguineum. The hummingbird bush, said to have financed David Douglas'
second trip to the Pacific. Red flowering currant and salmonberry (Rubus
spectablis) have both co-evolved with the Rufous Hummingbird. Most flowers rely
on insects for pollination and have white petals, sometimes with ultra-violet
patterns visible to those bugs. Thimbleberry (Rubus parvifloras) has white
petals while salmonberry's are pink/red. I don't believe bees can see red, but
we know that hummingbirds can. Currants and salmonberries blossom absurdly
early, March and even February, when it's usually too cold for insect
pollinators to fly. But the hot-blooded Rufous Hummingbird is undaunted, and
for those shrubs indispensable. Lars
On Feb 5, 2016, at 9:01 AM, Alan Contreras wrote:
My first singing Black-capped Chickadee was yesterday Feb 4. My red
flowering currant is starting to leaf out.
.
.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Eugene, Oregon
