Plant of the Month Pages
| Common Name(s): | Hillside Gooseberry |
| Scientific Name: | Ribes californicum |
| Family: | Grossulariaceae (Gooseberry) |
| Plant Type: | Shrub |
| Size: | up to 8 feet |
| Habitat: | woodland chapparal - northern slopes |
| Blooms: | January to March |
| Fire Response: | Germinate from Seed |
Ribes californicum, commonly called hillside gooseberry, is one of two gooseberry plants we have in the Santa Monica Mountains - Ribes speciosum is the other. Look for this plant in Upper Sycamore Canyon particularly on north-facing slopes. The gorgeous red (like red wine) and white flowers appear in January/February. This plant is endemic to California.
Gooseberries: numerous spiny stems are there to keep you from touching.
Currants: lack of spines or bristles on the stems.
The bright red and white flowers appear in bundle of 1 to 3 in the leaf axils (angle between leaf and stem). They are up to an inch long and bristly. The flowers are pendant (they hang down) with the five sepals reflexed back. Five white petals and five anthers surround a branched style. The seed is even more bristly than the flower, and sticky to boot.
Woody stems, fall deciduous leaves (alternate) grow on a shrub that reaches 6 to 8 feet. Leaves appear in winter before blooming. The roundish three-lobed shiny green leaves are up to an inch and a half diameter and accompanied by spines on the stem. A word about those spines: they are as sharp as they look!
Link to Calflora.net - the best source of this fascinating information
Name Origin: Ribes – from the Syrian or Kurdish ribas, meaning acid-tasting, which was derived from an old Persian word.
californicum – California
Contributed by George Sherman - A big thank you to Jon Sheldon for suggesting this plant! I have walked the trail where we found this plant many dozens of times and walked right by. Jon's timing was perfect and he sent me an image of the plant.
