Ribes divaricatum Douglas
Straggly Gooseberry (coastal black gooseberry; Currant; spreading gooseberry; wild black gooseberry)
Grossulariaceae (Currant family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Liz Watkinson     (Photo ID #8119)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Ribes divaricatum
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Ribes divaricatum var. divaricatum

Species Information

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.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Ribes divaricatum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
59 0 399
Slope Gradient (%)
6 0 36

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

23 35 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
5 2 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
65
Modal BEC Zone Class
CDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

CDF(42), CWH(22)

Habitat and 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.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia