Canyon Gooseberry, Ribes menziesii

About Canyon Gooseberry (Ribes menziesii) 6 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The canyon gooseberry (Ribes menziesii) is a distinctive plant found only in California and Oregon. There are five to six varieties of the species found across the low elevation mountains of California, especially the Coast Ranges, and the coastal canyons and foothills, into southern Oregon. It can be found in the chaparral plant community. It is in the genus which includes gooseberries and currants. The canyon gooseberry is an aromatic deciduous shrub with very prickly branches growing up to two meters in height. It has somewhat rounded, hairy, hairy green leaves. Its showy hanging flowers have sepals which are reflexed, or folded backwards along the length of the flower. The sepals are fuchsia or purple. The petals are white and extend forward to form a loose tube from which the stamens emerge. The plant fruits purple gooseberries which are edible but are mainly seeds with little fruit. The plant's spines also make collecting fruit unpleasant. The plant is sometimes used as an ornamental in areas of proper climate, such as coastal California, for its attractive spring blooms. The rest of the year, however, the plant is brown and less attractive so it is not in very great demand for garden displays.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

6.6 - 10 ft tall

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Flower Color

Red, Pink, White, Purple

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 81 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Hoary Comma Polygonia gracilisPolygonia gracilis

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Aglais milbertiAglais milberti

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrusPolygonia satyrus

Green Comma Polygonia faunusPolygonia faunus

Tailed Copper Lycaena arotaLycaena arota

Oreas Comma Polygonia oreasPolygonia oreas

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Shade

Moisture

Low

Nurseries

Carried by 6

Soil Description

Soil PH: 4.8 - 7.8

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Sunset Zones?

5, 7*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Open places

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 11.8" - 151.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 5.78", Coldest Month: 32.8" - 53.4", Hottest Month: 53.8" - 76.6", Humidity: 0.01" - 24.61", Elevation: -554" - 7525"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Canyon Gooseberry

Ribes menziesii

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Canyon GooseberryRibes menziesii

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Canyon Gooseberry

Ribes menziesii