Common Name: Dogberry

General Information

Ribes cynosbati is a usually spiny, erect to spreading deciduous shrub growing 50 - 150cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes cultivated as a fruit crop in N. America, and is also often grown as an ornamental[]

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Ontario to New Brunswick, south to Oklahoma and Georgia

Habitat

Open, loamy or rocky woods[, ]. Rich hardwoods and conifer-hardwoods, rocky slopes, boulderfields, heath balds; at elevations from 100 - 2,100 metres[]

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Ribes cynosbati 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[, ]. Plants are quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position[].
A parent of the cultivated American gooseberry, it is occasionally cultivated in America for its edible fruit[, ]. It does not tend to fruit very heavily in Britain[]. The ssp. Ribes cynosbati inerme Rehd., has a fruit that is without bristles[].
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[, , , , , ]. A pleasant sub-acid flavour[], good for quenching thirst, they also make excellent pies, jellies and preserves[]. A gooseberry[]. The fruit can also be dried for later use[]. The greenish to pale red, globose fruit is about 7 - 15mm in diameter, and is covered with short weak bristles[, , ].

Medicinal

The root or the root bark has been used in the treatment of uterine problems caused by having too many children[].
An infusion of the root has been used as a wash for sore eyes[].

Other Uses

The plant is used as a cross-parent in European gooseberry breeding because of its mildrew resistance[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between -2 to +2°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[, ].