Ribes oxyacanthoides

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Ribes oxyacanthoides
Ribes oxyacanthoides setosum.jpg
ssp. setosum [1]
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Grossulariaceae
Genus: Ribes
Species:
R. oxyacanthoides
Binomial name
Ribes oxyacanthoides
L. 1753
Synonyms [2]
  • Grossularia cognata(Greene) Coville & Britton
  • Ribes cognatumGreene
  • Ribes leucodermeA. Heller
  • Ribes non-scriptum(A.Berger) Standl.
  • Ribes setosumLindl.
  • Ribes saximontanumE.E.Nelson

Ribes oxyacanthoides is a North American species of gooseberry known by the common name Canadian gooseberry. Its various subspecies have common names of their own.

Contents

Description

In general, this plant is a shrub growing 0.5 to 2 metres (1+12 to 6+12 ft) in height. [3] The ssp. hendersonii is sometimes smaller at maturity. The branches are covered in prickles and there are spines up to 1.3 centimetres (12 in) long at stem nodes. [4] The deciduous leaves are 0.5 to 1.5 cm (14 to 58 in) wide, and smooth to glandular-hairy. [3]

Flowers are solitary or borne in pairs or threes. They are white or pinkish in color. The fruit is a palatable berry up to 1.6 cm (58 in) wide; [3] [4] it is reddish, greenish, purple, or black in color. [5]

Subspecies

Subspecies include: [4] [6] [5]

The subspecies were previously considered to be five separate species of plant. They intergrade in some regions. [4] These subspecies are sometimes called varieties. [5]

Distribution and habitat

The shrub is native to North America, where it occurs in Alaska through much of Canada and the western and north-central United States. [4] [8]

It grows in many types of habitat, particularly riverbanks and riparian woodlands. It grows in boreal forest habitat, often among conifers at lower elevations. Some subspecies occur at higher elevations, such as the dwarf ssp. hendersonii, which can be found in mountain talus. [4]

Ecology

This plant is an alternate host for the white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), the vector of a pine tree disease. It is sometimes eradicated in attempts to control the rust. [4]

Small amounts of this shrub and its fruit are present in the diets of wildlife species such as grizzly bear and mule deer. [4]

Uses

Humans find the berry somewhat palatable. [4] Many Native American groups collected and stored it for food. The Ojibwa cooked and ate it with sweet corn and made it into preserves, for example. The root was used medicinally. [9]

References

  1. illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 240.
  2. The Plant List, Ribes oxyacanthoides L.
  3. 1 2 3 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 210. ISBN   978-1-60469-263-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Carey, Jennifer H. 1995. Ribes oxyacanthoides. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Accessed 19 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Ribes oxyacanthoides. Flora of North America.
  6. Ribes oxyacanthoides. USDA Plants Profile.
  7. Robert D. Pfister and John P. Sloan (2008). "Grossulariaceae—Currant family" (PDF). USDA FS Agriculture Handbook 727: Woody Plant Seed Manual. USDA Forest Service.
  8. Biota of North America Program, 2014 state-level distribution map
  9. Ribes oxyacanthoides. University of Michigan Ethnobotany.

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