Black currants were banned across the United States in the early 1900s because they spread a fungal disease called white pine blister rust, which threatened to wipe out the country’s white pine timber industry. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but several states still restrict or prohibit growing them, which is why most Americans have never seen one in a grocery store.
The Fungus That Started It All
White pine blister rust is caused by a fungus that needs two different types of plants to complete its life cycle. It infects white pines, where it forms cankers that eventually girdle and kill branches or entire trees. But the fungus can’t spread directly from one pine to another. Instead, it releases spores that land on the leaves of plants in the Ribes family, which includes black currants, red currants, and gooseberries. The infected currant leaves then release a different type of spore that drifts back to nearby white pines, restarting the cycle.
Black currants are by far the worst offender in this chain. They’re more susceptible to the fungus than red currants or gooseberries, and they produce far more of the spores that infect pines. A single black currant bush near a stand of white pines can seed an outbreak across a wide area.
Why White Pines Mattered So Much
White pine was one of the most economically important trees in North America. By 1926, western white pine and sugar pine alone represented an estimated 57 billion board feet of timber with a market value of $228.5 million on the stump (well over $4 billion in today’s dollars). Eastern white pine had already been the backbone of the colonial timber trade for centuries. Entire regional economies depended on these trees.
When blister rust arrived in the U.S. on imported European pine seedlings, the response was swift. Congress passed the Federal Plant Quarantine Act in August 1912, halting imports of white pine nursery stock. By 1917, a domestic quarantine was in effect to stop the spread of diseased plants from eastern states to the still-uninfected West. A federal committee then recommended that all states where white pines grew should outlaw the cultivated black currant entirely. Most states complied, and millions of wild Ribes plants were uprooted in massive eradication campaigns that lasted decades.
The Federal Ban Ended in 1966
By the 1960s, revised breeding practices had produced pine varieties with some resistance to blister rust, and scientists better understood the limits of the eradication approach. The federal government lifted its ban on propagating, planting, and cultivating Ribes plants in 1966. From that point on, control was left entirely to individual states.
This is where things get complicated. Some states dropped their restrictions entirely. Others kept them on the books and never revisited the issue. A handful updated their laws to allow only disease-resistant black currant varieties while still banning the traditional European types. The result is a patchwork of regulations that varies from state to state, with no single national rule.
Where Black Currants Are Still Restricted
The states most likely to maintain restrictions are those in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes, where white pines are native and economically significant. New York, for example, allows certain resistant cultivars but still regulates where they can be planted. Some states require permits or limit planting to areas a minimum distance from white pine forests. Others, particularly in the South and West where white pines are less common, have no restrictions at all.
If you’re interested in growing black currants, your best starting point is your state’s department of agriculture or cooperative extension service. The rules are specific enough that general lists online are often outdated or incomplete.
Resistant Varieties Changed the Game
Plant breeders have developed several black currant cultivars that are immune or highly resistant to white pine blister rust. Varieties like Titania, Consort, Coronet, Crusader, and Minaj Smyriou do not serve as hosts for the fungus, meaning they break the infection cycle that caused the original ban. In states that still regulate black currants, these resistant varieties are typically the only ones permitted.
One quirk worth knowing: Consort, Coronet, and Crusader won’t pollinate each other, so growers need to plant a different resistant variety like Titania or Minaj Smyriou alongside them for cross-pollination. This matters if you’re planning a small home planting rather than a commercial operation with diverse stock.
What Americans Have Been Missing
The century-long ban had a lasting cultural effect. Black currants are wildly popular in Europe, where they’re used in jams, juices, liqueurs (like cassis), and baked goods. In the U.K., the flavor of Ribena, a black currant drink, is as familiar as grape juice is in the U.S. Most Americans, by contrast, have never tasted one.
Nutritionally, the gap is notable. Black currants contain roughly 290 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams of dry powder. Blueberries and blackberries don’t contain detectable amounts by comparison. Black currants are also exceptionally rich in anthocyanins, the pigments responsible for their deep purple color that function as potent antioxidants. They pack more of these compounds per serving than nearly any other common berry.
A small but growing number of American farmers, particularly in New York, Connecticut, and Oregon, have begun cultivating resistant black currant varieties commercially. Production is still tiny compared to blueberries or strawberries, but the fruit is slowly appearing at farmers’ markets and in specialty stores. The ban may be mostly gone, but the infrastructure and consumer awareness are still catching up after a hundred years of absence.