Ribes binominatum
Encyclopedia
Ribes binominatum is a species of currant
known by the common names trailing gooseberry and ground gooseberry. It is native to the Klamath Mountains
and adjacent ranges in far northern California
and southern Oregon
, where it grows in higher-elevation forests and meadows. It is a low, spreading shrub
no more than a meter tall, and often quite a bit shorter. Nodes along the stem each bear three spines up to 2 centimeters in length. The hairy, glandular leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long and deeply divided into three to five rounded, toothed lobes. The inflorescence
is a solitary flower or raceme
of up to four flowers which hang pendent from the branches. The flower has five fuzzy sepal
s in shades of pale green, sometimes edged with red, which are reflexed upward. At the center is a tubular corolla of white or pinkish petals around five stamen
s and two shorter styles
. The fruit is a yellowish green berry
about a centimeter wide which is covered in long prickles which harden into spines.
Ribes
Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. Seven subgenera are recognized....
known by the common names trailing gooseberry and ground gooseberry. It is native to the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
and adjacent ranges in far northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, where it grows in higher-elevation forests and meadows. It is a low, spreading shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
no more than a meter tall, and often quite a bit shorter. Nodes along the stem each bear three spines up to 2 centimeters in length. The hairy, glandular leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long and deeply divided into three to five rounded, toothed lobes. The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a solitary flower or raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of up to four flowers which hang pendent from the branches. The flower has five fuzzy sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s in shades of pale green, sometimes edged with red, which are reflexed upward. At the center is a tubular corolla of white or pinkish petals around five stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and two shorter styles
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
. The fruit is a yellowish green berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
about a centimeter wide which is covered in long prickles which harden into spines.