Ribes divaricatum is a species in the genus Ribes found in the forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub of western North America from British Columbia to California.[10][11] The three accepted varieties have various common names which include the word "gooseberry". Other common names include coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry,[12]Worcesterberry,[13] or spreading-branched gooseberry.[13]
Description
Ribes divaricatum is a shrub sometimes reaching 3 metres (10 feet) in height with woody branches with one to three thick brown spines at leaf nodes. The leaves are borne on petioles, up to 6 centimetres (2+1⁄4 inches) long[citation needed] and 2.5–6.5 cm (1–2+1⁄2 in) wide.[14] They are generally palmate in shape, 3–5 lobed and edged with teeth.[14]
The inflorescence is a small cluster of hanging flowers, each with reflexed purple-tinted green sepals and smaller, white[14] to red petals encircling long, protruding stamens. The fruit is a sweet-tasting purplish-black berry[14] up to 1 cm (1⁄2 in) wide.
Leaf
Spine close-up
Flowers
Similar species
It is similar to Ribes lacustre and R. lobbii, but the former has smaller, reddish to maroon flowers and the latter has reddish flowers that resemble those of fuchsias and sticky leaves.[15]
The fruit was food for a number of Native American groups of the Pacific Northwest, and other parts of the plant, especially the bark, was used for medicinal purposes.[23]
References
^ ab The original description of this species was published in Transactions, of the Horticultural Society of London, 7: 515. 1830. "Plant Name Details for Ribes divaricatum". IPNI. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
^Ribes divaricatum var. douglasii was published in Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève. 35: 391. 1907. Geneva & Paris. "Plant Name Details for Ribes divaricatum var. douglasii". IPNI. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
^R. parishii was published in Muhlenbergia; a Journal of Botany. 1: 134. 1904. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Los Gatos, California. "Plant Name Details for Ribes parishii". IPNI. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
^R. d. var. montanum was published in Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève. 35: 391. 1907. Geneva & Paris. "Plant Name Details for Ribes divaricatum var. montanum". IPNI. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
