Name:
- Ribes, from the Arabic or Persian ribas, "acid-tasting", referring to the fruit
- oxyacanthoides, from the Latin
- Common Name, from
- Other common names include: Northern Gooseberry, Inland Gooseberry, Idaho Gooseberry, Henderson's Gooseberry, Umatilla Gooseberry, Missouri Gooseberry
Taxonomy:
- Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
- Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
- Class Magnoliopsida, the Dicotyledons
- Subclass Rosidae, the Roses
- Order Rosales, the Roses
- Family Grossulariaceae, the Gooseberries
- Genus Ribes, Currants and Gooseberries
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 24493
- Also known as Ribes cognatum, Ribes hendersonii, Ribes irriguum, Ribes setosum
- Five subspecies recognized: ssp. cognatum (Umatilla Gooseberry), ssp. hendersonii (Henderson's gooseberry), ssp. irriguum (Idaho Gooseberry), ssp. oxyacanthoides (Northern Gooseberry), ssp. setosum (Inland Gooseberry, Missouri Gooseberry)
- Most regional floras consider the five subspecies to be separate species.
Identification:
Description:
- A native, deciduous shrub, 1½'-5' tall.
- Leaves
- Branches erect to sprawling, covered with prickles. Nodes have several ¼"-½" stout spines.
- Flowers single or in clusters of two to three.
- Fruit a berry, 0.3"-0.6" in diameter with numerous seeds.
- Roots shallow, radiating from a central crown.
Distribution:
- Across boreal Canada from Hudson Bay to Alaska, south into the US to the Palouse, northern Rockies, Black Hills, Upper Missouri, and Great Lakes States.
Habitat:
- Rocky and sandy shores, stony banks, talus slopes and outcrops and in clearings, moist woods, and thickets, generally at low elevations in the boreal forest.
- Moderately shade tolerant, occurring in open woods and forests.
Fire:
- Common in forest habitats that are characterized by long fire-free intervals punctuated by severe stand-replacing fires, such as Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides), and Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana). The ability to regenerate after fire from long-lived seed stored in soil or from off-site sources makes this species fairly resilient to stand-replacing fire.
- May be able to sprout from the root crown after low-severity fire. Fire that burns and removes the organic soil will likely kill the shallow root system.
- Seed contained in the organic mantle probably killed by severe fire, but seed buried in the mineral soil probably survives. Probably colonizes burned sites via long-lived seed and/or seed carried on-site by animals.
- Severe fire creates canopy openings and suitable mineral seedbeds for gooseberry establishment.
Associates:
- Trees: Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides),
- Shrubs:
- Herbs:
- Ground Covers:
- Mammals:
- Birds:
History:
Uses:
- Fruit more or less palatable to humans.
Reproduction:
- Regenerates by seed, producing first seeds when 3-5 years old.
- Some seed dispersal by animals, but many berries fall to the ground beneath the parent plant.
- Scarification and stratification enhance germination. Mineral soil is the best seedbed. Seeds have longterm viability, accumulating in the organic layer and mineral soil over time.
- The ability to regenerate vegetatively by rhizomes or by sprouting is not documented.
Propagation:
- By seed, following scarification and cold stratification.
Cultivation:
- Alternate host for White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola) which
infests five needle pines. Because of their association with the rust, Ribes spp. have been a target of various eradiction efforts. Only a few bushes per acre are sufficient to perpetuate blister rust.
Links:
Last updated on 9 August 1999