
California Gooseberry
Ribes californicum var. californicum
NATIVE – CA ENDEMIC
Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)
- Eudicotyledon
- Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
- Gooseberry Family (Grossulariaceae)
- Deciduous shrub
- 3-4 leaves in a cluster; lobed with toothed margins
- 3 spines at nodes (junction of leaf and stem); sometimes internodes have bristles
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) a raceme (unbranched stem with stalked flowers opening from the bottom up) of 1-3 pendent flowers
- Sepals (usually green, outer flower parts) are showy, white to green with a rosy tinge, and upwardly-reflexed
- Petals are white or pink, fused, and in-rolled
- Stamens (male flower parts) and pistils (female flower parts) are exserted (extending beyond petals}
- Sepals, petals, and stamens (male flower parts) fused at base into a cup-like structure (hypanthium)
- Ovary inferior (below the attachment of other flower parts)
- Fruit a berry (a usually multi-seeded fruit with a fleshy ovary wall) with bristles; red and translucent in maturity
- Height to 4.6 ft.
Distribution
- Native and endemic (limited) to California
- Grows in forest openings, woodlands, and chaparral
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Grows at elevations to 2,400 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)
- Valuable food and habitat for wildlife; spines of the fruit do not prevent birds and mammals from eating the berries
- Host plant for tailed copper butterfly caterpillar (Lycaena arota)
Name Derivation
- Ribes (RIE-bees) – from the Arabic for a shrub with acidic fruit
- Gooseberry – from possible corruption of a Dutch (kruisbezie), German (Krausbeere), or French (groseille) word
Notes
- Sepals (usually green, outer flower parts) are the showy part of the flower
- Spines on stems help deter herbivory
- Spines are sharp-pointed modified leaves, as on cacti and at Edgewood on gooseberries, or leaf parts, as on leather oaks
- Prickles grow from the outer layers (epidermis) of plant stems, as on roses and blackberries
- True thorns are sharp-pointed modified stems, as grow on citrus trees and at Edgewood on chaparral pea (Pickeringia montana var. montana)
- Flowers, leaves, and spines arise from the same node
- Edgewood’s hillside gooseberry is classified as a variety
- Subspecies rank is used to recognize geographic distinctiveness, whereas variety rank is appropriate for variants seen throughout the geographic range of the species; in practice, these two ranks are not distinct

ID Tips
- May be confused with chaparral currant (R. malvaceum)
- Hillside gooseberry, like all gooseberries, has spines on stems and bristles on berries
- Chaparral currant, like other currants, lacks spines
- May be confused with canyon gooseberry (R. menziesii var. menziesii)
- Hillside gooseberry is common at Edgewood
- Grows in sun or shade
- Leaves are not hairy and usually not sticky (glandular)
- Has spines at nodes (junctions of leaf and stem), but usually lacks bristles between nodes
- Canyon gooseberry is uncommon at Edgewood
- Grows in deeper shade
- Has sticky (glandular), hairy leaves
- Has spines at nodes and dense bristles between nodes
- Hillside gooseberry is common at Edgewood
At Edgewood
- Found in chaparral and woodlands
- See iNaturalist for observations of Ribes californicum
- Flowers January – April
Specific References
Allen, T.J., et al. 2005. Caterpillars in the Field and Garden, Oxford University Press.