Ribes montigenum
gooseberry currant
Family GrossulariaceaeAlso called mountain gooseberry, alpine prickly currant, western prickly gooseberry
About
Ribes montigenum, the mountain gooseberry, is a prickly, low shrub of high western North American mountains with star-shaped flowers and tart, bristly red berries.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Mature size
- 0.3–1.5 m (1–5 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
A spreading shrub 0.3–1.5 m tall with prickly, hairy stems and 1–5 sharp spines at intervals. Glandular leaves up to 4 cm long have about five deeply cut lobes. Racemes of flowers have yellow-green to pale pink or orange sepals opening into a star, with small red petals. The edible berry, up to 1 cm, is red to orange-red, acidic and usually softly bristly.
Distribution & habitat
Washington south to California and east to the Rocky Mountains, in subalpine and alpine forest and talus.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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