Ribes glandulosum is a deciduous shrub growing to 0.5 metres (2 ft) tall and wide.

The leaves are 2.5–7.5 centimetres (1–3 in) wide, palmately lobed with 5–7 deeply cut segments.

[4][5][2] It is widespread in Canada (all 10 provinces and all 3 territories) and is also found in parts of the United States (Alaska, the Great Lakes region, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Northeast).

[6][7] It can be found in humid forests, shrub thickets, clearings, and on rocky slopes.

[10] The Ojibwe people take a compound decoction of the root for back pain and for "female weakness".