2. The acid fruit or berry of the {Ribes rubrum} or common
red currant, or of its variety, the white currant.
3. (Bot.) A shrub or bush of several species of the genus
{Ribes} (a genus also including the gooseberry); esp., the
{Ribes rubrum}.
{Black currant},a shrub or bush ({Ribes nigrum} and {R.
floridum}) and its black, strong-flavored, tonic fruit.
{Cherry currant}, a variety of the red currant, having a
strong, symmetrical bush and a very large berry.
{Currant borer} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of an insect that bores
into the pith and kills currant bushes; specif., the
larvae of a small clearwing moth ({[AE]geria
tipuliformis}) and a longicorn beetle ({Psenocerus
supernotatus}).
{Currant worm} (Zo["o]l.), an insect larva which eats the
leaves or fruit of the currant. The most injurious are the
currant sawfly ({Nematus ventricosus}), introduced from
Europe, and the spanworm ({Eufitchia ribearia}). The fruit
worms are the larva of a fly ({Epochra Canadensis}), and a
spanworm ({Eupithecia}).
{Flowering currant}, {Missouri currant}, a species of {Ribes}
({R. aureum}), having showy yellow flowers.