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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
ABBREVIATION :
RIBMON
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
RIMO2
COMMON NAMES :
gooseberry currant
mountain gooseberry
subalpine prickly currant
western prickly gooseberry
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for gooseberry currant is Ribes
montigenum McClatchie. It is a member of the gooseberry family
(Grossulariaceae). There are no recognized infrataxa [17,19].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
G. Winkler, August 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
K. Anna Marshall, May 1995
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Marshall, K. Anna. 1995; Winkler, G. 1987. Ribes montigenum. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The distribution of gooseberry currant ranges from British Columbia east
to central Montana, south to New Mexico, and west to the Sierra Nevada
and the Cascade Range [6,14,16,44,45].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub
FRES44 Alpine
STATES :
AZ CA CO ID MT NV NM OR UT WA
WY AB BC
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
CEBR CURE DEVA DEPO GLAC LAVO
ROMO SEKI YELL YOSE
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K004 Fir-hemlock forest
K008 Lodgepole pine-subalpine forest
K015 Western spruce-fir forest
K020 Spruce-fir-Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce-fir forest
K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K052 Alpine meadows and barren
K055 Sagebrush steppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
206 Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir
208 Whitebark pine
209 Bristlecone pine
211 White fir
213 Grand fir
216 Blue spruce
218 Lodgepole pine
219 Limber pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
256 California mixed subalpine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
108 Alpine Idaho fescue
213 Alpine grassland
322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass
402 Mountain big sagebrush
409 Tall forb
410 Alpine rangeland
411 Aspen woodland
415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
416 True mountain-mahogany
417 Littleleaf mountain-mahogany
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Gooseberry currant occurs in subalpine forests and extends into alpine
communities throughout the West.
In addition to the plant associations and cover types listed in
preceding slots, gooseberry currant occurs in the gooseberry
currant/slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus) habitat type in Six
Mile Canyon, central Utah. Associated grass species include California
brome (Bromus carinatus) and Letterman needlegrass (Stipa lettermanii)
[33].
Species associated with gooseberry currant but not previously mentioned
include: Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum), serviceberry (Amelanchier
spp.), bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Oregon-grape (Mahonia
repens), sedge (Carex spp.), rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), field
horsetail (Equisetum arvense), strawberry (Fragaria spp.), common
juniper (Juniperus communis), woodrush (Luzula spp.), pachistima
(Pachistima myrsinites), sickletop lousewort (Pedicularis racemosa),
bluegrass (Poa spp.), skunkleaf polemonium (Polemonium pulcherrimum),
chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), bittercherry (P. emarginata), white
spiraea (Spiraea betulifolia), snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.),
huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.), and beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)
[1,2,7,23,24,29,35].
Gooseberry currant is listed as a dominant understory species in the
following publications:
Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of eastern Idaho and western
Wyoming [5]
Coniferous forest habitat types of northern Utah [23]
Aspen community types of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in
south-central Colorado [29]
Coniferous forest habitat types of the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming [35]
Forest habitat types of the South Warner Mountains, Modoc County,
California [36]
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The fruit of Ribes spp. is a valuable food source for songbirds,
chipmunks, ground squirrels, and other animals [22].
PALATABILITY :
Gooseberry currant is not very palatable to livestock [8,11]. In
Ephraim Canyon on the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, domestic sheep browsed
gooseberry currant only a little or not at all. Observations were made
in a 9-acre pasture for 2 consecutive years in July while a variety of
other forage species were available [11]. Dittberner and Olson [8] rate
the palatability of gooseberry currant in Utah as poor for cattle and
horses and good for sheep.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Currants (Ribes spp.) contain high concentrations of mono- and
disaccharides [48].
COVER VALUE :
Cover values for gooseberry currant are as follows [8]:
UT WY
Pronghorn poor poor
Elk poor poor
Mule deer poor fair
White-tailed deer ---- poor
Small mammals fair good
Small nongame birds fair good
Upland game birds fair good
Waterfowl poor poor
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Gooseberry currant can be used to revegetate disturbed mountain areas.
Plummer [47] rated the suitability of gooseberry currant for restoring
high-elevation mountain environments as follows:
seed establishment good
transplant establishment very good
seed production medium
natural seed spread medium
vegetative spread good
growth rate medium
soil stability good
adaptation to disturbance good
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Currants (Ribes spp.) can be used for making jam, jelly, or pie [28].
Some western Indian tribes used currants for making pemmican [26].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Gooseberry currant is an alternate host for white pine blister rust
(Cronartium ribicola) which infests five-needled pines. Because of
their association with the rust, Ribes spp. have been the targets of
various eradication efforts; however, these efforts have not been
successful in the western states [15,27].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Gooseberry currant is a native, deciduous shrub growing from 0.6 to 3.3
feet (0.2-1 m) tall. Its many low, straggling branches are bristly.
The orbicular, five-lobed leaves are 0.4 to 1.6 inches (1-4 cm) long, at
least as wide, and glandular-pubescent on both sides. Drooping racemes
are three- to eight-flowered. The smooth, globose berries are 0.2 to
0.4 inch (5-10 mm) in diameter and contain numerous seeds
[6,10,14,16,45].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Gooseberry currant reproduces vegetatively and by seed.
Neither the root system of gooseberry currant nor its ability to sprout
from the root crown after fire or disturbance is described in the
literature; however, on the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, Ellison [11] observed
gooseberry currant forming adventitous roots. Decumbent outer branches
partially covered by earth were rooting. The plants were spreading
outward and dying in the center, forming a clonal ring. The rings were
sometimes 15 to 20 feet (4.5-6.1 m) in diameter.
Ribes spp. generally begin fruiting after 3 years [3]. Many seeds fall
beneath the parent plant; they are also dispersed by birds and animals.
Fallen seeds of Ribes spp. may remain viable in the soil and duff for
many years [38,39].
Mineral soil and scarification generally enhance germination in Ribes
spp. [38,39,46]. In the labortory, a 53 percent germination was
obtained without scarification by stratifying gooseberry currant seeds
at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 deg C) for 200 to 300 days. Seeds were
stratified and germinated in sand moistened with nutrient solution [28].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Gooseberry currant occurs on a variety of sites. It is found in dry,
rocky places from the middle subalpine zone to timberline, sometimes
extending into alpine communities. It grows on open, talus or scree
slopes, on ridges, and in boulder fields, meadows, and forests
[5,16,25,42,45]. It may also occur along streams and in wet forests,
ravines, and washes [10,23]. Gooseberry currant occurs on loamy or
clayey soils that contain gravel [7,23,40]. In northern Utah, habitat
types in which gooseberry currant occurs have an average litter depth of
1.2 to 2.9 inches (3-7.4 cm) [23]. In central Idaho, average litter
depth where gooseberry currant occurs may reach 2 inches (5 cm) [40].
Where gooseberry currant occurs in the Engelmann spruce (Picea
engelmanii)-bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) series in New Mexico,
climate is at the cold extreme for forests. The mean annual air
temperature is 34 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit (1-2 deg C), and the mean
soil temperature is 33 to 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1 deg C). The growing
season for forest plants is less than 110 days [24].
Elevational ranges for gooseberry currant are as follows:
feet meters
California [17] 6,930-15,840 2,100-4,800
Colorado [16] 7,500-11,500 2,273-3,485
central Idaho [40] 8,400- 9,800 2,545-2,970
Utah [45] 7,046-12,078 2,135-3,660
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Gooseberry currant is somewhat shade tolerant. It grows in dense
forests with few canopy openings, but it occurs most often and grows
most vigorously on sites without forest canopy. In the Big Horn
Mountains of Wyoming, gooseberry currant occurred in the understory of
spruce (Picea spp.)-fir (Abies spp.) forests but its average cover was
less than 1 percent [7]. In the Crested Butte area of west-central
Colorado, gooseberry currant was the most common tall shrub in dense
spruce-fir forests, occurring throughout the understory with a constancy
of 72 percent and an average cover of 4 percent. In canopy openings it
formed thickets [21]. Near timberline in Colorado and Utah, gooseberry
currant formed a dense fringe around spruce and fir "tree islands"
[11,18,21,23].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Gooseberry currant flowers from late June to August [6,28]. Fruit
ripens from August to September [28].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
The fire ecology of gooseberry currant is not described in the
literature. Although many authors discuss the effect of fire on Ribes
spp., most refer to studies conducted by Quick [31,32]. Quick described
postfire seedling establishment by Sierra Nevada gooseberry (R. roezli).
Gooseberry currant regeneration is probably favored by fire because
scarification of soil-stored seed generally enhances germination in
Ribes spp. [5,38,39]. The ability of gooseberry currant to sprout from
the root crown after fire is described in the literature as "variable"
[5,6].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire probably kills most gooseberry currant.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
In New Mexico spruce-fir forests and Utah tall shrub communities,
gooseberry currant was described as a dominant early seral species after
fire [9,11]. The origin of gooseberry currant (seedlings or sprouts) in
postfire communities was not described.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
In south-central Colorado quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)/gooseberry
currant communities may be prescribe burned in the fall to encourage
quaking aspen regeneration. Many of the community's undergrowth plants
have high or moderate fire resistance and a postfire community "quickly"
resembles the prefire one [29].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant
REFERENCES :
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Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 92 p.
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Index
Related categories for Species: Ribes montigenum
| Gooseberry Currant
|
 |
