Ribes divaricatum explained

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.^{[1] [2]} The three accepted varieties have various common names which include the word "gooseberry". Other common names include coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry, Worcesterberry,^[3] or spreading-branched gooseberry.

Description

Ribes divaricatum is a shrub sometimes reaching 3m (10feet) in height with woody branches with one to three thick brown spines at leaf nodes. The leaves are generally palmate in shape and edged with teeth. The blades are up to 6cm (02inches) long and borne on petioles.

The inflorescence is a small cluster of hanging flowers, each with reflexed purple-tinted green sepals and smaller, white to red petals encircling long, protruding stamens. The fruit is a sweet-tasting berry up to 1cm (00inches) wide which is black when ripe. 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.^[4]

Taxonomy

Varieties^{[5] [6]}

• Ribes divaricatum var. divaricatum, or spreading gooseberry is found in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.^[7]
• Ribes divaricatum var. parishii, called Parish's gooseberry, is found only in California.^{[8] [9]}
• Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum, known as straggly gooseberry is native to both California and Oregon.^{[10] [11]}

Uses

The berries are edible and are ripe when black.^[12]

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.^[13]

External links

• • Jepson Manual Treatment
• Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California: var. pubiflorum

Notes and References

1. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ribes%20divaricatum.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
2. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7114 Calflora taxon report, University of California, Ribes divaricatum Douglas spreading gooseberry
3. Web site: Ribes divaricatum . RHS Plants . . 2014-11-04 .
4. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065855 Flora of North America, Ribes divaricatum Douglas, 1830. Straggly gooseberry
5. http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=Ribes+divaricatum&mode=sciname&submit.x=12&submit.y=8 USDA PLANTS, name search: Ribes divaricatum
6. Web site: Profile for Ribes divaricatum (spreading gooseberry) . August 2, 2010 . PLANTS Database . USDA, NRCS.
7. Web site: Profile for Ribes divaricatum var. divaricatum (spreading gooseberry) . August 2, 2010 . PLANTS Database . USDA, NRCS.
8. Web site: Profile for Ribes divaricatum var. parishii (Parish's gooseberry) . August 2, 2010 . PLANTS Database . USDA, NRCS.
9.  R. d. var. parishii was published in A Flora of California. 2: 151. 1936. Berkeley, London, San Francisco. Web site: Plant Name Details for Ribes divaricatum var. parishii . August 2, 2010 . IPNI.
10. Web site: Profile for Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum (straggly gooseberry) . August 2, 2010 . PLANTS Database . USDA, NRCS.
11.  R. d. var. pubiflorum was published in Deutsche Dendrologie. 200. 1893. Web site: Plant Name Details for Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum . August 2, 2010 . IPNI.
12. Book: Fruit and Vegetables: Harvesting, Handling and Storage. 9781118654019. Thompson. Anthony Keith. 2014-10-03. John Wiley & Sons.
13. Web site: Search for Ribes divaricatum . Dan Moerman . Native American Ethnobotany Database . . . August 2, 2010.