Ribes montigenum is a species of currant known by the common names mountain gooseberry, alpine prickly currant, western prickly gooseberry, and gooseberry currant. It is native to western North America from Washington south to California and east as far as the Rocky Mountains,[3] where it grows in high mountain habitat types in subalpine and alpine climates, such as forests and talus. It is a spreading shrub growing up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, the branching stems covered in prickles and hairs and bearing 1 to 5 sharp spines at intervals.[4]
| Mountain gooseberry | |
|---|---|
| |
| R. montigenum, growing in a disturbed area where an avalanche had previously occurred, in the Spring Mountains, in southern Nevada | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Grossulariaceae |
| Genus: | Ribes |
| Species: | R. montigenum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ribes montigenum McClatchie
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
The lightly hairy, glandular leaves are up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long and are divided into about five deeply cut or toothed lobes. Each is borne on a petiole several centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a raceme of several flowers. Each flower has five sepals in shades of yellow-green or pale pink, orange, or yellow which spread into a corolla-like star. At the center are five smaller club-shaped red petals and purple-red stamens tipped with yellowish or cream anthers. The fruit is an acidic but tasty bright-red to orange-red edible berry up to a centimeter long, which is usually covered in soft bristles. It has only a small dried flower remnant at the end, compared with the long remnant found on wax currants (Ribes cereum).[4][5]
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berries -
flowers
References
edit- ^ NatureServe (2024). "Ribes montigenum". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Ribes montigenum McClatchie". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Profile for Ribes montigenum (gooseberry currant)". PLANTS Database. USDA, NRCS. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ^ a b "Ribes montigenum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org.
- ^ Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC 244766414.
External links
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