Ribes rotundifolium

Michx.

Grossulariaceae Edible: Fruit 762 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Ribes rotundifolium is a North American species of currant known by the common names wild gooseberry and Appalachian gooseberry. It is native to the eastern United States, primarily the Adirondacks, from Massachusetts and the Appalachian Mountains south as far as South Carolina and Tennessee. Ribes rotundifolium is a shrub up to 150 cm (5 ft) tall, with cream-colored, pinkish or pale green pink flowers and dark blue or dark purple berries. Berries are sweet, tasty pale purple berries.

Description

A deciduous shrub reaching 1 m tall, hardy to UK zone 6. Insect-pollinated with both male and female organs. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Grows in semi-shade to full sun and prefers consistently moist soil. Suitable for mildly acidic to mildly alkaline conditions.

Edible Uses

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. It is a smooth-skinned gooseberry with a very good flavour, and the berries are about 6–8mm in diameter.

Medicinal Uses

An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and measles. An infusion of the leaf has been used as a sedative in cases of nerves.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant.

Where It Grows

NORTHERN AMERICA: United States (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey (north), New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (east), Georgia, Kentucky (northeast), Maryland (west), North Carolina (west), South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, District of Columbia)

Cultivation

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. This species is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit. 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 3 months or more of cold stratification at between -2 and 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. Take cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10–15cm with a heel, in July or 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.