Ribes rotundifolium
| Ribes rotundifolium | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Ribes rotundifolium (common name: appalachian gooseberry)
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[1][2]. 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, July/August in a frame[3][1].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[3][4].
Cultivation: Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[5][4]. Plants are quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position[5].
Hardy to about -20°c[4].
This species is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit[6].
Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees[7]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[4].
Range: Eastern N. America - Massachusetts and New York to North Carolina.
Habitat: Open rocky places and thickets, ascending to the highest crests[8].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[6][9][10][11]. A smooth-skinned gooseberry[12] with a very good flavour[6][5]. The fruit is about 6 - 8mm in diameter[4].
Medicinal: An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and measles[11].
An infusion of the leaf has been used as a sedative in cases of nerves[11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Grossularia rotundifolia. (Michx.)Cov.&Britt.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Arnberger, Leslie. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments, 1968.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.