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bitter gooseberry

Habit Plants 1–2 m. Stems erect, villous, stipitate-glandular, glabrescent; spines at nodes 3, 5–10 mm; prickles on internodes absent.
Leaves

petiole 2–4 cm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

blade roundish, 3–5-lobed, cleft 1/4–1/3 to midrib, 2–4 cm, base cordate, surfaces puberulent, stipitate-glandular, lobes oblong to cuneate, sides parallel, margins crenate, apex rounded or deltate.

Inflorescences

pendent, solitary flowers or 2–3-flowered racemes, 4–8 cm (nearly as long as leaves), axis pubescent, stipitate-glandular, flowers evenly spaced.

Pedicels

not jointed, 6–8 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

bracts broadly ovate, 3–5 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular.

Flowers

hypanthium reddish, campanulate, 5–7 mm (1/2 as long as sepals), pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

sepals not overlapping, reflexed, maroon, lanceolate, 7–8 mm;

petals connivent, erect, pinkish white, oblong, inrolled, 2–5 mm;

nectary disc not prominent;

stamens 2 times as long as petals;

filaments linear, 7–8 mm, glabrous;

anthers maroon, lanceolate, somewhat sagittate, 3 mm, apex apiculate;

ovary densely glandular-bristly;

styles connate 3/8 their lengths, 12–20 mm, glabrous.

Berries

palatable, purple, globose, 15–20 mm, bristles stiff, mostly glandular, some eglandular.

Ribes amarum

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr.
Habitat Chaparral, montane coniferous forest
Elevation 0-2100 m (0-6900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ribes amarum occurs in central and southern California and in the central Sierra Nevada southward. Plants from the Santa Ynez Mountains of Santa Barbara County with hairy fruits have been named var. hoffmannii. This species shares the apiculate, short-indehiscent anthers with other species in this group.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 30.
Parent taxa Grossulariaceae > Ribes
Sibling taxa
R. acerifolium, R. americanum, R. aureum, R. binominatum, R. bracteosum, R. californicum, R. canthariforme, R. cereum, R. curvatum, R. cynosbati, R. diacanthum, R. divaricatum, R. echinellum, R. erythrocarpum, R. glandulosum, R. hirtellum, R. hudsonianum, R. indecorum, R. inerme, R. lacustre, R. lasianthum, R. laxiflorum, R. leptanthum, R. lobbii, R. malvaceum, R. marshallii, R. menziesii, R. mescalerium, R. missouriense, R. montigenum, R. nevadaense, R. nigrum, R. niveum, R. oxyacanthoides, R. pinetorum, R. quercetorum, R. roezlii, R. rotundifolium, R. rubrum, R. sanguineum, R. sericeum, R. speciosum, R. thacherianum, R. triste, R. tularense, R. uva-crispa, R. velutinum, R. viburnifolium, R. victoris, R. viscosissimum, R. watsonianum, R. wolfii
Synonyms Grossularia amara, R. amarum var. hoffmannii
Name authority McClatchie: Erythea 2: 79. 1894 ,
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