E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Ribes divaricatum Douglas var. divaricatum
wild black gooseberry
Grossulariaceae (Currant family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Rosemary Taylor  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #29376)

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Distribution of Ribes divaricatum var. divaricatum
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Species Information

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General:
Deciduous shrub, loosely branched, 0.5-2 m tall; stems erect to spreading, 1-3 stout, chestnut-colored spines at the nodes, otherwise usually unarmed although sometimes bristly on the internodes; bark grey to brownish.
Leaves:
Alternate, broadly egg-shaped, 2-6 cm wide, usually 3-lobed slightly over half their length, the lower lobes again shallowly cleft into 2 unequal segments, hairy; stalks about equal to or slightly longer than the blades.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1-4 flowers in a slender, drooping raceme more or less equal to the leaves; flower stalks not jointed below the flowers, subtended by 1-3 small, hairy bracteoles; petals white to red, 1.5-2.5 mm long, egg-shaped; hypanthium narrowly bell-shaped, 2.5-3 mm long; calyces red to reddish-green, the lobes narrowly oblong to rounded, 5-7 mm long; styles densely soft long-hairy above the middle, about equaling the stamens.
Fruits:
Berries, round, purplish-black, 6-10 mm long, glabrous.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic thickets, meadows, open woodlands, and forests in the lowland zone; frequent on Vancouver Island, the Gulf islands and adjacent mainland; S to CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Ribes divaricatum Dougl.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References