History
The European gooseberry (Ribes grossularia or Ribes uva-crispa), is a member of the currant family, or perhaps red, black and white currants are a member of the gooseberry family. They are edible when ripe and are usually sweet, flavourful and aromatic. They grow on spiny shrubs and some varieties sometimes sport spines as well. Gooseberries popularly called grossularia, are native to the Old World and have long been cultivated for fruit. In Europe the large-fruited cultivated gooseberries became naturalized. Grossularia do not prosper in the United States, because they are susceptible to mildews and rusts. Because they provide an alternate host for the white-pine blister rust, it is illegal to grow grossularia in some states where white pine is an important resource. Gooseberry production began around 1700 in Europe. Virtually all production exists in Europe and the USSR today. The term "gooseberry" is probably and evolution of the German "Jansbeere", meaning "John's berry" because it’s ripening period coincided with the Feast of Saint John. Alternatively, the French word for currant "Groseille" which derives from the Latin epithet for the species may have been mispronounced/misspelled to yield "gooseberry".
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Description
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Gooseberries are deciduous shrubs, fast growing under optimum conditions to 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The stems are thin, becoming woody, with a large thorn at each axil. American gooseberry stems are densely bristly, with one or more additional thorns at each axil. Leaf size and number are reduced under heat or light stress, and are easily burned by intense sunlight.Ribes is a genus of low, deciduous shrubs with alternate, palmately-lobed leaves. Some species have 1-3 spines at the nodes (stipular spines), while others have many bristles covering the length of the stem; two local species have both spines and bristles. Some species have tiny yellow resin dots on the lower and/or upper leaf surface, while most lack resin dots on their leaves. Flowers come from terminal mixed buds in red currant and gooseberry, which appear as lateral buds on 1 yr wood, because the vegetative axis is greatly reduced. For practical purposes, the bearing habit can be considered lateral on 1 yr wood. Inflorescences contain 1-3 flowers in gooseberry, and 8-30 flowers in currants. Inflorescences are racemes, commonly referred to as "strigs". Ovaries are inferior. The fruit, borne singly or in pairs at the axils, is a berry with many minute seeds at the centre. A gooseberry may be green, white (gray-green), yellow, or shades of red from pink to purple to almost black. Fruits of the European gooseberry may be very large, like a small plum, but are usually 1 inch long, less in width. American gooseberry fruits are smaller (to 1/2 inch), perfectly round, all becoming pink to wine-red at maturity. Skin colour is most intense in full sunlight. Berries generally drop when overripe. The fruit has a flavour all its own, the best dessert cultivars as luscious as the best apple, strawberry or grape. |
Range
The Ribes grossularia is a native to the Caucasus Mountains and North Africa. In California they are fairly productive in the coolest parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the outer Coast Ranges and coastal northern California. |
Habitat
Gooseberries grow best in summer humid, cool regions with great winter chilling. They can be grown in the high shade of fruit trees such as persimmon or on the north side of buildings.Ribes spp are well-adapted to northern areas, and are often grown where severe winter cold precludes tree fruit production. |
Cultivation
The ease with which gooseberries propagate from cuttings depends on the cultivar. Generally, American cultivars are easier to root than are European cultivars. Take hardwood cutting in early fall, even before all the leaves have dropped. The presence of a few leaves actually enhances rooting. Make the cuttings about a foot long, but do not include tip growth, dip the base in hormone and pot in ordinary soil. Keep in part shade for the first year. Tip layering is a surer method of propagation, though a single bush furnishes far fewer layers than cuttings. If intended for training as standards or cordons, strip all buds off, cutting below the soil line. Seeds require moist stratification, just above freezing, for three to four months. The plants commence bearing in 5 years from seed and 2 years from cuttings. |
Flowering Season
The inconspicuous flowers, green with pink flushed petals, open in early spring. |
Pests and Diseases
Aphids and spider mites commonly attack young leaves, distorting them.Ribes species are host for White Pine blister rust. Botrytis and Anthracnose can cause rot of leaves and loss of young growth particularly stems lying on the ground or splashed during irrigation. Gooseberry mildew is a common problem, affecting both European and American types. Roots are susceptible to both Oak Root fungus (Armillaria mellea) and Phytophthora. |
Parts Used
The fruits and the leaves are the most commonly used parts of gooseberry for its medicinal and commercial applications. |
Medicinal Applications
- The juice was formerly said to 'cure all inflammations.
- The light jelly made from the red berries is valuable for sedentary, plethoric, and bilious subjects.
- The leaves were formerly considered very wholesome and a corrective of gravel. An infusion taken before the monthly period will be found a useful tonic for growing girls.
- They were said to be conducive to good appetite and a remedy for catarrh.
- Cooked gooseberries are used for treating fever and for seizures of malaria marked by paroxysms of chills, fever and sweating recurring at regular intervals.
- For women incurring uterine difficulties after a number of births, a root tea from the prickly gooseberry helps.
- Gooseberry tea was used to cure canker sores and for mouthwash.
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Commercial Applications
- The yellow gooseberries have usually the richest flavour for dessert, and the best wine made from them very closely resembles champagne. The red are generally the most acid, supporting the fact that acids change vegetable blues to red.
- The fruit is used for tarts, pies, sauces, chutneys, jams, and dessert, also for preserving in bottles for winter use.
- The young and tender leaves are eaten in salads.
- Gooseberries add colour and flavour to dishes, generally having a tart "acid punch".
- Gooseberries can be used for meat accompaniments or in foul stuffing.
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Astrology
The astro reports for the shrub gooseberry says that the plant is under the dominion of the planet Mars. |
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Folklores and Myths
To dream of gathering gooseberries, are a sign of happiness after trouble, and a favourable indication of brighter prospects in one's business affairs. If you are eating green gooseberries, you will make a mistake in your course to pleasure, and be precipitated into the vertex of sensationalism. Bad results are sure to follow the tasting of green gooseberries. To see gooseberries in a dream, foretells you will escape some dreaded work. For a young woman to eat them, foretells she will be slightly disappointed in her expectations. The term 'gooseberry' is also slang for a third person accompanying a couple on a date. | |
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