About
Ribes oxyacanthoides, the Canadian gooseberry, is a prickly North American gooseberry found from Alaska across much of Canada and the western and north-central United States. Many Native American peoples gathered its edible 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
- Shrub 0.5–2 m (1.5–6.5 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
A shrub 0.5–2 m tall (subspecies hendersonii can be smaller) with prickly branches and spines up to 1.3 cm long at the nodes. The deciduous leaves are 0.5–1.5 cm wide and smooth to glandular-hairy. White or pinkish flowers are borne singly or in twos and threes, followed by palatable berries up to 1.6 cm across that are reddish, greenish, purple or black.
Distribution & habitat
Alaska, much of Canada and the western and north-central United States, especially on riverbanks and in riparian woodland, and in boreal forest among conifers at lower elevations. Some subspecies grow higher up, such as the dwarf subsp. hendersonii on mountain talus.
Ecology
An alternate host of white pine blister rust, so it is sometimes removed to control the disease. Grizzly bears and mule deer eat small amounts of the shrub and its fruit.
History & etymology
Its five subspecies (cognatum, hendersonii, irriguum, oxyacanthoides and setosum) were once treated as separate species and intergrade in places. Many Native American groups collected and stored the berries; the Ojibwa cooked them with sweet corn and made preserves, and the root was used medicinally.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Canada
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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