Ribes velutinum
Encyclopedia
Ribes velutinum is a species of currant
known by the common name desert gooseberry. It is native to the western United States (Montana
, Idaho
, Washington, Oregon
, Utah
, Nevada
, California
, and Arizona
), where it grows in many types of habitat, including sagebrush
, woodlands, and pine forests. R. v. var. goodingii (Gooding's gooseberry) is confined to the states of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California.
R. velutinum is a spreading shrub
with a thick, arching, multibranched stem growing up to 2 meters long. Nodes along the stems are armed with spines which may reach 2 centimeters in length. The thick, leathery leaves have generally rounded blades divided shallowly into three to five lobes and dotted with glandular hairs. The small blades are borne on petioles
. The inflorescence
is a solitary flower or raceme
of up to four flowers. Each small flower is a tube of white or yellowish sepal
s with smaller, similarly colored petals inside. The fruit is an edible berry
one half to one centimeter wide which ripens yellow, then reddish or purple.
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 name desert gooseberry. It is native to the western United States (Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Washington, 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...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, 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 Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
), where it grows in many types of habitat, including sagebrush
Sagebrush (plant)
Sagebrush is the common name for Artemisia tridentata and a number of other species of shrubby plants in the genus Artemisia, native to the North American west and other parts of the world. It is sometimes confused with sage plants ....
, woodlands, and pine forests. R. v. var. goodingii (Gooding's gooseberry) is confined to the states of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California.
R. velutinum is a 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...
with a thick, arching, multibranched stem growing up to 2 meters long. Nodes along the stems are armed with spines which may reach 2 centimeters in length. The thick, leathery leaves have generally rounded blades divided shallowly into three to five lobes and dotted with glandular hairs. The small blades are borne on petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. 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. Each small flower is a tube of white or yellowish 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 with smaller, similarly colored petals inside. The fruit is an edible 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....
one half to one centimeter wide which ripens yellow, then reddish or purple.