Ribes montigenum
{{Short description|Western North American currant species}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Mountain gooseberry
| image = Ribes montigenum 2.jpg
| image_caption = R. montigenum, growing in an avalanche-disturbed area, in the Spring Mountains, southern Nevada
| status = {{TNCStatus}}
| status_system = TNC
| genus = Ribes
| species = montigenum
| authority = McClatchie
| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=297951-2 |title=Ribes montigenum McClatchie |access-date=2 October 2024}}
| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list
| Limnobotrya montigena | Rydb. (1917)
| Ribes lacustre var. molle | A.Gray (1876)
| Ribes lentum | Coville & Rose (1902)
| Ribes molle | Howell (1898)
| Ribes nubigenum | McClatchie (1894)
}}
}}
}}
Ribes montigenum is a North American species of currant known by the common names mountain gooseberry, alpine prickly currant, western prickly gooseberry, and gooseberry currant.
Description
It is a spreading shrub growing to {{convert|0.3-1.5|meters|ft|frac=2}} tall,{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ |title=Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest |last2=Kuhlmann |first2=Ellen |date=2014 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-263-1 |edition=1st |location=Portland, OR |pages=208}} the branching stems covered in prickles and hairs, and bearing 1 to 5 sharp spines at intervals.
Borne on a petiole several centimetres in length, the lightly hairy, glandular leaves are up to {{convert|4|cm|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and are divided into about five deeply cut, bluntly toothed lobes. 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 palatable red to orange-red edible berry up to 1 cm long; it is usually covered in soft bristles. The dried flower remnant at the end is small compared to that of wax currant.{{Cite web|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065825|title=Ribes montigenum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org|website=www.efloras.org}}{{Cite book|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244766414|title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods|last2=Dykeman|first2=Peter A.|publisher=Sterling|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9|location=New York|pages=170|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}}
Distribution and habitat
It is native to western North America from Washington south to California and east as far as the Rocky Mountains,{{cite web |title=Profile for Ribes montigenum (gooseberry currant) |url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RIMO2 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |work=PLANTS Database |publisher=USDA, NRCS}} where it grows in high mountain habitat types in subalpine and alpine climates, such as forests and talus.
File:Mountain gooseberry Ribes montigenum flowers.jpg|Foliage
File:Mountain gooseberry Ribes montigenum berries.jpg|Berries
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons|Ribes montigenum|position=left}}
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4450,4451,4482 Jepson Manual Treatment]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Ribes+montigenum Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7322354}}
Category:Plants described in 1894