Alpine gooseberry facts for kids

The Ribes lasianthum is a type of currant plant. You might know it better by its common names: alpine gooseberry or woolly-flowered gooseberry. This plant is special because it grows in high mountain areas.

About the Alpine Gooseberry

The alpine gooseberry is a fascinating plant that thrives in tough mountain environments. It was first officially described in 1896 by a botanist named Edward Lee Greene.

Where It Grows

This plant is native to the state of California in the United States. You can find it in mountain ranges like the San Gabriel Mountains and the famous Sierra Nevada. Its natural home also stretches a little bit into the neighboring state of Nevada. It prefers to grow in high mountain areas, often in open, sunny spots.

What It Looks Like

The alpine gooseberry is a type of shrub, which means it's a woody plant smaller than a tree. It tends to spread out and usually grows to be about half a meter to one meter tall (that's about 20 to 40 inches).

Stems and Leaves

Its stems are quite interesting! They are fuzzy and have small prickles. At certain points on the stems, called nodes, you'll find spines that can be up to a centimeter long. The leaves of the alpine gooseberry are also hairy and have tiny glands. They are small, only one to two centimeters long, and are divided into sections with jagged, toothed edges.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers of the alpine gooseberry grow in a cluster called a raceme. This cluster stands upright and usually has two to four flowers, each less than a centimeter long. Each flower has five yellow sepals, which are like small leaves that protect the flower bud. These sepals bend backward, showing off a neat tube of yellow petals in the center. Inside this tube, there are five stamens (which produce pollen) and two styles (part of the plant's reproductive system).

After the flowers bloom, the plant produces a small, red berry. This berry is smooth, without any hairs, and measures about 6 to 7 millimeters wide.