Ribes divaricatum
spreading gooseberry
Family GrossulariaceaeAlso called coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry, Worcesterberry
About
Ribes divaricatum, the spreading or coast black gooseberry, is a spiny shrub of western North America whose sweet purplish-black berries were a food for Pacific Northwest peoples.
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
- Up to 3 m (10 ft) tall.
Field notes
Morphology
A shrub up to 3 m tall with one to three thick brown spines at the nodes. Palmate, 3–5-lobed toothed leaves are up to 6 cm long. Hanging flowers have reflexed purple-tinged green sepals and small white to red petals around long stamens. The berry is purplish-black and up to 1 cm wide.
Distribution & habitat
Forests, woodlands and coastal scrub from British Columbia to California. Var. divaricatum grows in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia; var. parishii only in California.
History & etymology
Three varieties are accepted. Native American groups of the Pacific Northwest ate the ripe black berries and used other parts, especially the bark, medicinally.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Canada, United States
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Crossed R. divaricatum with another species?Register the cross. If it's not documented yet you'll be the first contributor; if someone already registered it, you'll be taken there to add your photo.