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squaw currant, stink currant, wax currant, white currant

Mount Adams gooseberry, spiny gooseberry, spring gooseberry, wastson gooseberry, Watson gooseberry, Watson's gooseberry

Habit Plants 0.2–2 m. Plants 1–2 m.
Stems

spreading or arching to erect, puberulent, sparsely to copiously stipitate-glandular;

spines at nodes absent;

prickles on internodes absent.

ascending to erect, copiously grayish-hairy and abundantly stipitate-glandular, very slightly if at all bristly;

spines at nodes 1 or 3, 3–7(–10) mm;

prickles on internodes absent.

Leaves

petiole (0.3–) 0.6–1.2(–2.8) cm, glabrous or finely to copiously pubescent;

blade almost reniform to broadly cuneate-flabellate, 3–5(–7)-lobed, shallowly cleft, (0.5–) 1–2(–4) cm, base cordate to truncate, surfaces glabrous or copiously pubescent, sparsely stipitate-glandular to downy to conspicuously stipitate-glandular and sessile-glandular, particularly noticeable on margins, lobes rounded, margins coarsely crenate-dentate, apex obtuse.

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

blade broadly triangular, 3–5-lobed, cleft less than 1/2 to midrib, again 2–5 cleft, 2–5 cm, base truncate or cordate, surfaces thickly puberulent to pubescent, stipitate-glandular, lobes broad, rounded, margins coarsely crenate-denticulate, apex rounded.

Inflorescences

pendent, solitary flowers or 2–8(–9)-flowered racemes, 1–3 cm, axis finely pubescent, ± sticky with short-stalked to subsessile glands, flowers tightly clustered at end of peduncle.

pendent, solitary flowers or 2(–3)-flowered racemes, 2–4 cm, axis pubescent, stipitate-glandular.

Pedicels

jointed, (0.4–)1–2.2(–3.4) mm, puberulent;

bracts flabellate or ovate to obovate, 3–7(–8.8) mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular.

not jointed, 2–3 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular;

bracts deltate, 2–3 mm, pubescent, stipitate-glandular.

Flowers

hypanthium white to greenish white with pink tinge, or pinkish white, narrowly tubular, tube widest at base and near throat, 5–9(–9.4) mm, densely hairy and scattered stipitate-glandular abaxially, glabrous adaxially;

sepals not overlapping, spreading-recurved, greenish white to white or faintly to strongly pinkish tinged, deltate-ovate, 1–3.2 mm;

petals connivent, erect, white to pink, orbiculate or flabellate, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 1–2.1 mm;

nectary disc not prominent;

stamens shorter than petals, (inserted below petals and completely included in hypanthium tube);

filaments linear, 0.5–1.6 mm, glabrous;

anthers pale cream-yellow to yellow, oval, 0.6–1.2 mm, apex with small, cup-shaped gland;

ovary glabrous or hairy or sparsely to densely pubescent;

styles connate nearly to stigmas, 7.5–11.5 mm, proximally hairy or glabrous.

hypanthium greenish or with some reddish tinge, tubular-campanulate, 2.5–3 mm, finely pilose, sparingly glandular;

sepals not overlapping, reflexed, cream suffused with pink, narrowly oblong, 5.5–9 mm;

petals connivent, erect, white, pinkish proximally, oblong, not conspicuously revolute or inrolled, 3.5–4 mm;

nectary disc not prominent;

stamens as long as or slightly longer than petals;

filaments linear, 2–3 mm, glabrous;

anthers white, oblong, 0.8–1.2 mm, apex rounded;

ovary densely glandular-bristly;

styles connate 3/4 their lengths, 6 mm, glabrous.

Berries

tasteless, dull to bright red or orange-red, ovoid, 5–12 mm, sparsely glandular to glandular.

palatability not known, reddish, subglobose, 10 mm, densely yellowish-spiny.

2n

= 16.

Ribes cereum

Ribes watsonianum

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Canyons, ridges
Elevation 1300-2200 m [4300-7200 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Ribes cereum has a notably spicy odor. The bright green style, which becomes brown with age, is striking.

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

Ribes watsonianum occurs in the Cascade Range of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and in Alberta. Analysis of combined datasets of ITS, ETS, psbA-trnH, and chloroplast restriction sites placed R. watsonianum as sister to sect. Grossularia (L. M. Schultheis and M. J. Donoghue 2004).

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

Key
1. Bracts truncate to broadly rounded apically; sepals pubescent and stipitate-glandular.
var. cereum
1. Bracts acute apically; sepals glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent, not stipitate-glandular.
var. colubrinum
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 22. FNA vol. 8, p. 34.
Parent taxa Grossulariaceae > Ribes Grossulariaceae > Ribes
Sibling taxa
R. acerifolium, R. amarum, R. americanum, R. aureum, R. binominatum, R. bracteosum, R. californicum, R. canthariforme, 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
R. acerifolium, R. amarum, 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. wolfii
Subordinate taxa
R. cereum var. cereum, R. cereum var. colubrinum
Synonyms Grossularia watsoniana
Name authority Douglas: Trans. Hort. Soc. London 7: 512. (1830) Koehne: Deut. Dendrol., 197. 1893 ,
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