Gooseberry - Ribes uva-crispa, species information page

Gooseberry - Ribes uva-crispa
Also known as Goose-gogs

Gooseberry is native to Europe, north western Africa and south western Asia. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus Grossularia, a few taxonomists treat Grossularia as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant are possible. The subgenus Grossularia differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes. It is a straggling prickly shrub which has become widely naturalised growing to 1-3 metres (3-10 feet) tall, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers, attractive to solitary bees are produced from March to May, singly or in pairs, from groups of rounded, deeply-crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit which is generally hairy, the fruit of wild gooseberries is smaller than cultivated varieties. The fruit is usually green, but there are red variants and occasionally deep purple berries occur. Wild gooseberry bushes are often found in copses, hedgerows and wasteground, but has been in cultivtion for so long that it is difficult to distinguish wild bushes from feral ones. Gooseberry bushes are vulnerable to magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) caterpillars, is the food plant for many moths in the larval stage.

Large berries can be produced by heavy composting so Gooseberry was occaionally planted as a fence around cesspits, providing a reasonalbly impeneratable fence and fruit into the bargain. Gooseberries are often used as an ingredient in desserts, such as pies, fools and crumbles. They are also used as a flavour for various drinks, flavoured waters, or milk, and can be made into wines and teas. Gooseberries can be preserved in the form of jams, dryed fruit, or as the primary or a secondary ingredient in pickling, or stored in sugar syrup.

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