Common Name: Appalachian Gooseberry

General Information

Ribes rotundifolium is a usually unarmed, deciduous shrub with erect to recurving stems that can root at the tips; it can grow 70 - 150cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Massachusetts and New York, south to Georgia

Habitat

Rich woods, rocky slopes, boulderfields, heath and grassy balds; at elevations up to 2,100 metres[]. Open rocky places and thickets, ascending to the highest crests[].

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

Ribes rotundifolium 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[].
This species is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit[].
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 smooth-skinned gooseberry[] with a very good flavour[, ]. The pale purple, globose fruit is about 7 - 12mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and measles[].

An infusion of the leaf has been used as a sedative in cases of nerves[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months or more cold stratification at between -2 and 0°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[, ].
Division of self-layered stems