''Ribes echinellum'', the Miccosukee gooseberry, is a very rare North American

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 ...

in the currant family, native to the southeastern United States. It has only a few known populations. The

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

populations were discovered first, in 1924 at

Lake Miccosukee Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County. The small town of Miccosukee, Flo ...

. The

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

populations were found in 1957 and 1981, and the first is protected at

Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve is a nature preserve in the US State of South Carolina. It is managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. It covers in McCormick County and Edgefield County, and was established to protect rare a ...

. ''Ribes echinellum'' is a shrub up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall with spines at the nodes (places where the leaves are attached to the stem). Leaves are round or egg-shaped with three lobes. It has whitish or pale yellow flowers and purple spine-covered berries.

Cultivation

''Ribes echinellum'' is cultivated in a few places outside its native areas, as far south as

Hudson, Florida Hudson is a census-designated place (CDP) located at the westernmost end of Pasco County, Florida, United States, and is included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, Hudson's po ...

, but does not reproduce there. It is most abundant in the shade of

deciduous trees In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

on moist but well-drained soils with pH of 6.7 to 7.4.Endangered Species Spotlight - Miccosukee Gooseberry
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References

External links

Nature in Focus
photos
R. Todd Engstrom & Tom Radzio (2014) What's Eating the Fruit of the Miccosukee Gooseberry? Castanea: March 2014, Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 27-31.
natural threats to the species {{Taxonbar, from=Q7322343 echinellum Flora of Florida Flora of South Carolina Endemic flora of the United States Plants described in 1924 Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Critically endangered flora of the United States