''Ribes sericeum'' is a species of currant known by the common name Lucia gooseberry, or Santa Lucia gooseberry; its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of ''sericeum'' means "of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

". It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it is known only from the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...

along the Central Coast and an additional isolated population in Santa Barbara County. ''Ribes sericeum'' grows on streambanks in forests and scrub habitat. It is an erect

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing one to two meters (40-80 inches) tall, its stems densely hairy and covered in prickles and glandular bristles. Nodes along the stem bear three spines each which may be over a centimeter (0.4 inch) long. The leaves are up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long and are divided into several lobes with toothed edges. The leaves are hairy and glandular, especially on the undersides. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a solitary flower or a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

of 2 or 3 flowers. Each flower has five reflexed green, red-tinged or red

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s around a tube-shaped ring of smaller whitish petals. The fruit is a purple

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long which is covered in bristles.Flora of North America, ''Ribes sericeum'' Eastwood, 1902. Santa Lucia gooseberry
/ref>Coville, Frederick Vernon & Britton, Nathaniel Lord. 1908. North American Flora 22(3): 216
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentCalphotos Photo gallery, University of California
sericeum Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Santa Lucia Range Taxa named by Alice Eastwood Plants described in 1902 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Saxifragales-stub