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Deciduous shrub of the Grossulariaceae family, native to the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California. In its natural range, it colonizes forest edges, bushy rocky slopes, and sunny embankments, at low and medium altitudes.
It forms an upright and branched shrub, reaching 1.5 to 2.5 meters in height, with upright then slightly arched branches. The leaves are palmately lobed, with three or five toothed lobes, of a medium green and slightly rough to the touch, releasing a characteristic scent — slightly resinous and musky — when crushed, a detail that never fails to surprise in the garden.
The flowers are gathered in dense, pendulous clusters, composed of small tubular flowers with spreading sepals, from crimson red to bright carmine pink depending on individuals and cultivars. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from March to May. In cultivation, it occurs from March-April, often before the full development of the leaves, giving it a very marked spring effect.
Undemanding, it adapts to most well-drained soils, even poor ones, in sunny to semi-shaded exposure. Hardy and vigorous, it is one of the earliest flowering shrubs of the season, and its bright red clusters attract the first pollinators early.