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Plateau Gooseberry
- University of Nevada Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Plateau Gooseberry Ribes velutinum OF THE SEVERAL gooseberries and currants common in the Great Basin, the plateau gooseberry appears to be capable ofgrowing on the driest sites. It is common on dry mountain slopes, especially in sagebrush areas. It ranges north to Oregon, east to Utah and Arizona, and, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, south as far as the White Mountains. The plateau gooseberry is a rather rigidly branched shrub, sometimes as much as 2 meters high, though more typically it is 1 meter or less. This gooseberry is easily recognized by its small (I to 2 centimeters), deeply cleft, five-lobed leaves, which are roughly circular in outline, combined with the single large spine at each node. Unlike certain other spiny gooseberries, there are no spines on the internodes. In the spring this gooseberry produces small, inconspicuous flowers-usually whitish or yellowish-with several grouped together at the nodes. The fruit is a small, dark purple, and rather dry berry. The leaves, young stems, and fruits are covered with a soft pubescence. There is a variety located outside the Great Basin known as glanduliferum because its pubescence includes hairs with swollen, glandular tips. This form ranges from northern California to the San Gabriel and Kingston mountains at the southern end of the state. In common with other members of the genus, the plateau gooseberry provides only fair to poor forage for livestock. Because of the spines on this species, it seems to be avoided by cattle. However, various species of wildlife from deer to chipmunks and such birds as scrub jays and magpies apparently make good use of gooseberries and currants. Ribes is considered a liability by eastern foresters, since several species serve as the alternate host for the white-pine blister rust. In order for this PlateaU Gooseberry [3.133.79.70] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 20:32 GMT) PLATEAU GOOSEBERRY 143 parasitic fungus to complete its life cycle, currants or gooseberries must be nearby for certain stages to grow on. While the disease is not a problem in the Great Basin, it was very significant in the eastern United States, since it affected an important timber tree. The most feasible control measure, prac~ ticed since the early 1900s, has involved the eradication of currants and gooseberries, both native and introduced, with the result that in many areas of the East Ribes is a relatively rare shrub where it was once common. Some species of ribes are known to accumulate aluminum. Why this should be so is uncertain, for as far as most plants are concerned this ele~ ment is toxic in soluble form and, so far as is known, is not an essential element for growth or development. Clay, ofcourse, contains an abundance of aluminum, but this is in an insoluble form and so is not harmful to plants. Aluminum apparently interferes with the uptake of calcium and iron and ties up phosphorus in roots; preventing its transport to the rest of the plant. Characteristics of the genus Ribes are discussed under the wax currant. The species name velutinum, from the Latin, means covered with a silky pubescence. The family Grossulariaceae appears to be relatively old, since fossil wood similar to that of present~day Ribes has been found in deposits belonging to the Upper Cretaceous period in California. This would place the age of the gooseberry family, based on the wood of these specimens of Riboidoxylon, at between 70 and 80 million years. Fossil leaves resembling those of Ribes have been found at a number of sites of a later age. One esti~ mate states that the family possesses some 350 species in 25 genera. Its dis~ tribution includes all of the continents except Antarctica. ...