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Ribes hirtellum

Common name:	Currant-Gooseberry	Family:	Grossulariaceae
Author:	Michx.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Ribes gracile (Jancz.), Grossularia hirtella ((Michx.)Coville.&Britton.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Northern N. America - Newfoundland to Manitoba, West Virginia and South Dakota.
Habitat:	Rocky or swampy woods and clearings[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Grossularia cynosbati[B,P] R. cynosbati[B,G,HORTIPLEX,L,P] R. cynosbati var. atrox[B,P] R. cynosbati var. glabratum[B,P] R. cynosbati var. inerme[B,P] R. hirtellum var. calcicola[B,P] R. hirtellum var. saxosum[B,P] R. huronense[B,P] R. oxyacanthoides var. calcicola[B,P] R. oxyacanthoides var. hirtellum[B,P] R. oxyacanthoides var. saxosum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dogberry [L], Eastern Prickly Gooseberry [B,P], Hairy-stem Gooseberry [B], Hairystem Gooseberry [P], Missouri Gooseberry [L], Pricly Gooseberry [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	hirtellum = a little hairy;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Currant family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in April. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked in jams, jellies, pies, preserves etc[3, 11, 85, 101, 183]. A smooth-skinned gooseberry[235] with a pleasant taste[183, K]. The fruit can also be dried for later use[183, 257]. The fruit is about 8 - 10mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[11, 200]. Prefers a very sunny position[11].
Hardy to about -20°c[200].
Closely allied to R. uva-crispa and R. oxyacanthoides[11], it is often cultivated for its edible fruit[132] and is the parent of many disease-resistant American gooseberry cultivars[200]. It is sometimes crossed with European hybrids[200].
Plants can harbour a stage of white pine blister rust, so should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees[155]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between 0 to 9°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[113, 164]. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[78, 113].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[78, 200].

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Cool Temperate Nurseries: 10 Ivy Grove
Nottingham
NG7 7LZ
Email: philcorbett53@hotmail.com
Phone 0115 847 8302 Fax 0115 847 8302
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Cool Temperate by email/phone
Notes: Many Trees supplied on their own rootstock
Last Updated: April 03
Item: Ribes
Varities: Black Velvet

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Ribes cynosbati (a possible synonym).

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Ribes gracile (a possible synonym).

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978
A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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