in number. Whitestem gooseberry grows in aspen and open coniferous timber 

 stands, in parks and meadows, and occasionally in dry, gravelly, or rocky sites, 

 but attains its best development in rich, moist, alluvial soils such as frequently 

 occur along streams where it is often abundant. This plant usually appears in 

 association with willows. It grows most commonly at elevations of 6,000 to 

 9,000 feet, but is found as low as about 2,000 feet in the north and as high as 

 about 9,500 feet in the south. 2 



Whitestem gooseberry is one of the better browse species of its genus, due to 

 wide distribution, local abundance, practical freedom from objectionable spines, 

 and numerous relatively large tender leaves, thus providing a considerable 

 bulk of forage. However, the species is relatively low in palatability, being 

 poor for cattle and fair for sheep, goats, deer, and elk. 



GOOSEBERRIES (Grossula'ria spp.) 



Gooseberries are ordinarily spiny shrubs, belonging to the gooseberry family 

 (Grossulariaceae), a group some conservative botanists prefer to regard as a 

 subfamily or tribe of the saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae). Gooseberries and 

 currants (Ribes spp.) are closely related and so much alike that many authors 

 combine them into the one genus Ribcs. The gooseberries are chiefly distinct 

 from the currants in that: (1) the flower or fruit stalks (pedicels) are not 

 jointed just below the seed-producing orgau (ovary), so that the mature fruit 

 does not, as in the currants, break away from its stalk; (2) the stems are 

 usually spiny at the nodes and also often bristly; (3) the flowers are borne 

 in few-flowered clusters (racemes) or, rarely, solitary; (4) the fruits are fre- 

 quently spiny. Technical differences also occur in the character of the outer 

 united flower parts (calyx tube, or hypanthium.) and in the occurrence and 

 position of the bractlets on the pedicel. The presence of spines and bristles is 

 not an entirely reliable distinction, because occasional gooseberry plants have 

 practically smooth stems in contrast to the bristly stems of some of the cur- 

 rants. The flowers, fruits, and leaves of both genera are much alike super- 

 ficially ; the illustration of Whitestem gooseberry is* characteristic of the genus 

 Qrossularia, as a whole. 



The generic name Grossularia is from ffrassula, a New Latin name for goose- 

 berry taken from Old French. The gooseberry genus is widespread in the 

 North Temperate Zone and comprises about 60 species, of which approximately 

 23 species occur in our Western States. Gooseberries are very common and 

 sometimes abundant, especially along streams, where they are frequently asso- 

 ciated with alders and willows. However, they are widely distributed on both 

 moist and dry sites, in the open and in rather dense shade from the lower 

 elevations to timber line. These shrubs are usually poor browse plants, their 

 palatability averaging poor for cattle and fair for sheep. Deer and elk browse 

 them lightly. The very spiny species are probably less palatable than the 

 species with few spines. However, despite their low palatability, the goose- 

 berries furnish considerable browse, because of their wide distribution and 

 local abundance. 



The fruits of many species are acid, make excellent jelly, and are suitable 

 for sauce and pie; the berries of most of the species are relished by birds 

 and small animals. The gooseberries, as well as their close relatives, the 

 currants, are of particular economic significance throughout the United States 

 wherever white (5-needle) pines are important forest trees, because some 

 species, and perhaps all of them, serve as alternate hosts of the fungus Cronar- 

 tium ribioola, which causes white pine blister rust. The only practical control 

 method is to destroy all gooseberries and currants in the vicinity of white pines. 



Gooseberries, especially the European gooseberry ((?. reclina'ta, syn. Ribes 

 grossula'ria), have been cultivated abroad since the sixteenth century for their 

 fruits. 34 Wedgeleaf gooseberry (G. hirtel'la, syns. Ri'bes hirtel'lum, R. 

 saxo'sum), ranging from Newfoundland to Manitoba, South Dakota, West 

 Virginia, and Pennsylvania, is the leading native species most commonly culti- 

 vated in the United States. 



2 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 2*14 pp., illus. 1931. 



3 Bailey, L. H., and Bailey, E. Z. HORTDS. A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, GEN- 

 ERAL HORTICULTURE AND CULTIVATED PLANTS IN NORTH AMERICA. 652 pp., lllUS. New 



York. 1930. 



4 Bailey, L. H. THE STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE . . . New ed., 3 v., illus. 

 New York and London. 1933. 



