Ribes

CURRANT, GOOSEBERRY

Common Name: GOOSEBERRY FAMILY
Habit: Shrub, generally < 4 m. Stem: generally erect; nodal spines 0--9; internodal bristles generally 0; twigs generally hairy, generally glandular. Leaf: simple, alternate, generally clustered on short, lateral branchlets, petioled, generally deciduous; blade generally palmately 3--5-lobed, generally thin, generally dentate or serrate, base generally cordate. Inflorescence: raceme, axillary, generally pendent, 1--25-flowered; pedicel generally not jointed to ovary, generally hairy or glandular; bract generally green. Flower: bisexual, radial; hypanthium tube exceeding ovary; sepals generally 5, generally spreading; petals generally 5, generally < sepals, generally flat; stamens generally 5, alternate petals, generally inserted at level of petals (hypanthium top), anthers generally free, generally +- not exceeding petals, generally glabrous, tips generally rounded; ovary inferior, chamber 1, ovules many, styles generally 2, generally fused except at tip, generally glabrous. Fruit: berry.
Genera In Family: 1 genus, 120 species: northern hemisphere, temperate South America. Some cultivated as food, ornamental. Note: Hypanthium data refer to part above ovary; statements about ovary hairs actually refer to the hypanthium around the ovary. At one time included in Saxifragaceae.
Unabridged Note: The family name Grossulariaceae has been conserved, evidently because the genus name on which it is based, Grossularia, is illegitimate.
eFlora Treatment Author: Michael R. Mesler & John O. Sawyer, Jr.
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.