Common Name: Gummy Gooseberry

General Information

Ribes lobbii is a spiny, deciduous shrub with erect or spreading stems; it can grow 50 - 100cm tall, occasionally to 180cm[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental in gardens[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Western N. America - southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northern California.

Habitat

Montane and subalpine forests; at elevations from 100 - 2,200 metres[]. Creek banks and lowland valleys to open or forested mountain slopes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	0.90 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Ribes lobbii is very cold hardy, when dormant it can tolerate temperatures falling to around -20°c[].
Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[, ]. Requires a sunny position[].
A very ornamental plant[], it is closely related to Ribes menziesii[].
White pine blister rust, caused by the pathogen Cronartium ribicola, is a fungal disease that is native to Asia but has spread via human activity to many other regions, where it has become more virulent. It has a complex life-cycle that requires both currants (Ribes species) and white pines (Pinus species of the section Strobus) for the disease to spread. Whilst Ribes species can generally live with the disease (it has an annual life-cycle and infects the leaves only) Pinus species can be devastated by it (it becomes perennial and spreads through the tree). Young pines are far more susceptible than mature trees. In America the growing of certain Ribes species is banned in some areas in order to protect plantations of white pine species.
Plants in this genus tend to be notably susceptible to honey fungus[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, , , ]. Palatable[]. Generally considered to be unpalatable, but they were occasionally eaten by some native North American Indian tribes[]. The reddish brown, globose-ellipsoid fruit is usually 10 - 15mm in diameter, occasionally to 20mm[].

Medicinal

The root has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea[].
A poultice of the roots and salt water has been applied to mouth sores, body sores, blisters and carbuncles[].
The root ash, mixed with oil, has been used as a salve on boils[].

Other Uses

The roots have been boiled with cedar (Juniperus spp, Thuja sp.) and wild rose (Rosa spp) roots, then pounded and woven into rope[].

The sharp thorns have been used as probes for boils, for removing splinters and for tattooing[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at between 0 and 5°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[, ]. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame[, ].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, late autumn to late winter in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[, ].