Northern Gooseberry

Botanical Name: Ribes oxyacanthoides
Other Names: Canadian gooseberry, American Mountain Gooseberry, Stream currant, Henderson's currant
Family: Grossulariaceae
Native to: Eastern North America, Interior North America, Western North America
Hardy to zone: 2
Natural habitat: prairies, waters edge, hillsides & uplands, rocky slopes, forest edge
Shapes: multi-stemmed, wide spreading, prostrate
Height: up to 5ft
Unique attractions: fall colour, flowers, fruit
Common uses: naturalized plantings
Light: full sun, partial shade
Soil: moist and fertile, well drained, tolerates heavy clay, sandy
Reproduction type: monoacious

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Northern Gooseberry is a small fruiting shrub reaching up to 5 feet in height. Native to North America, it ranges from east to west coast and occupies a variety of habitats. This includes slopes, rocky bluffs, gravelly shores, moist thickets, and forest openings. Northern gooseberry prefers part shade but is tolerant of heavy shade. It also tolerates a variety of soil types but prefers moist, well drained soil in treed areas.

Stems are Spiny and bear clusters lobed dissected leaves. Both male and female organs are present on the plant and flowers are pollinated by insects. The fruit is tasty raw or cooked, and can be used in jams, pies or dried. As an alternate host for white pine blister rust, Northern Gooseberry can be a means of spreading the disease to five needle pine trees. Susceptible to honey fungus.