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].

Related categories for Species: Ribes montigenum | Gooseberry Currant