Ribes curvatum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit is a gooseberry with an acid flavour, roughly 7.5mm in diameter, and can be eaten raw or cooked.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

North America, USA,

How to Identify

A deciduous shrub reaching 1 m tall, hardy to UK zone 7. Hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. Grows in light, medium, or heavy well-drained soils across mildly acid to mildly alkaline pH. Tolerates semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

How to Grow

Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality. Plants are quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position. Hardy to about -20°c. A very ornamental plant, it is closely related to R. niveum. Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4–5 months of cold stratification at -2 to 0°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Under normal storage conditions seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting out in late spring the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10–15cm with a heel, can be taken in July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, can be taken November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

None known.

Ribes curvatum is a North American species of currant known by the common names granite gooseberry, drooping gooseberry and Georgia gooseberry. It is native to the southeastern and south-central United States (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama), and can be found in habitats ranging from dry rocky slopes to rich woodlands. Ribes curvatum is a deciduous shrub up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall, though more often in the range 1–1.7 meters (3.3–5.6 ft). Stems are erect or recurving, with three reddish-brown spines at each node. They often root at the tips. The plant's leaves are alternate, petiolate and have three rounded lobes. Flowering takes place between March and May. The flowers are white, with conspicuous stamens, and have a strong clove-like scent. They may be solitary, or in 2-4 flowered racemes. Each flower has a bell-shaped hypanthium with scattered hairs. The sepals of each flower are white, separated, and spreading from each other, while petals are also white and separated, but remain in close contact. The fruit takes the form of berries, ripening in July. The berries, which are globes about 7-8mm in diameter, though larger sizes (up to 12mm) have been reported, are green or reddish-purple, and may be crowned by persistent stamens. The fruit have many seeds inside, and are eaten by birds and small mammals. The berries can also be eaten raw or cooked by humans, and are sometimes used in preserves. The taste is similar to an acidic gooseberry.

Notes

There are about 150 Ribes species.

More from Grossulariaceae

No photo

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