Ribes oxyacanthoides
Ribes oxyacanthoides is a North American species of gooseberry known by the common name Canadian gooseberry. Its various subspecies have common names of their own.
Description
In general, this plant is a shrub growing in height. The ssp. hendersonii is sometimes smaller at maturity. The branches are covered in spines, and prickles|prickles] and there are spines up to long at stem nodes. The deciduous leaves are wide, and smooth to glandular-hairy.Flowers are solitary or borne in pairs or threes. They are white or pinkish in color. The fruit is a palatable berry up to wide; it is reddish, greenish, purple, or black in color.
Subspecies
include:- R. o. ssp. cognatum – Pacific Northwest
- R. o. ssp. hendersonii – Idaho, Montana, and Nevada
- R. o. ssp. irriguum – Pacific Northwest
- R. o. ssp. oxyacanthoides – from Alaska to Newfoundland
- R. o. ssp. setosum – Rocky Mountains and adjacent regions
Distribution and habitat
The shrub is native to North America, where it occurs in Alaska through much of Canada and the western and north-central United States.It grows in many types of habitat, particularly riverbanks and riparian woodlands. It grows in boreal forest habitat, often among conifers at lower elevations. Some subspecies occur at higher elevations, such as the dwarf ssp. hendersonii, which can be found in mountain talus.
Ecology
This plant is an alternate host for the white pine blister rust, the vector of a pine tree disease. It is sometimes eradicated in attempts to control the rust.Small amounts of this shrub and its fruit are present in the diets of wildlife species such as grizzly bear and mule deer.