''Ribes divaricatum'' is a species in the genus ''

Ribes ''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible ...

'' found in the forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub of western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. The three accepted varieties have various

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

s which include the word "gooseberry". Other common names include coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry, Worcesterberry, or spreading-branched gooseberry.

Description

''Ribes divaricatum'' is a shrub sometimes reaching in height with woody branches with one to three thick brown spines at

leaf A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

nodes. The leaves are generally palmate in shape and edged with teeth. The blades are up to long and borne on petioles. 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 ...

is a small cluster of hanging flowers, each with reflexed purple-tinted green

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 ...

s and smaller, white to red petals encircling long, protruding

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s. The fruit is a sweet-tasting

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, rasp ...

up to wide which is black when ripe. It is similar to ''

Ribes lacustre The shrub ''Ribes lacustre'' is known by the common names prickly currant, black swamp gooseberry, and black gooseberry. It is widely distributed in North America. Description The shrub grows erect to spreading, . Clusters of reddish to maroon f ...

'' and '' R. lobbii'', but the former has smaller, reddish to maroon flowers and the latter has reddish flowers that resemble those of

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, ''Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic ...

s and sticky leaves.

Taxonomy

;VarietiesUSDA PLANTS, name search: ''Ribes divaricatum''
/ref> *''Ribes divaricatum'' var. ''divaricatum'', or spreading gooseberry is found in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and British Columbia. *''Ribes divaricatum'' var. ''parishii'', called Parish's gooseberry, is found only in California. ''R. d.'' var. ''parishii'' was published in ''A Flora of California''. 2: 151. 1936. Berkeley, London, San Francisco. *''Ribes divaricatum'' var. ''pubiflorum'', known as straggly gooseberry is native to both California and Oregon. ''R. d.'' var. ''pubiflorum'' was published in ''Deutsche Dendrologie''. 200. 1893.

Uses

The berries are edible and are ripe when black. The fruit was food for a number of Native American groups of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, and other parts of the plant, especially the bark, was used for medicinal purposes.

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual TreatmentCalphotos Photo gallery, University of California: var. ''pubiflorum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2029489 divaricatum Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of British Columbia Plants described in 1830 Bird food plants Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status