sherwindu wrote:

My neighbor has just planted a row of black currants, close to
my south property line. While trying to find some advice for him on growing
them, I came across several references that state this plant can cause white pine
blister rust and for that reason, it is not heavily planted in gardens.

Crush a leaf and smell it.

Heavenly scent? Congrats, you actually have a real black currant, Ribes nigrum,
which can carry a disease.

No scent? You have a Ribes aureum with large black berries, of no consequence to
any vegetation around them.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed