Virginia Tech Dendrology

snow gooseberry Grossulariaceae Ribes niveum Lindl. symbol: RINI2
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, orbicular, palmately 3 or 5-lobed, margins with rounded teeth; to 2 inches; dark green above, paler below, both surfaces mostly glabrous.
Flower: Species is monoecious; very showy long reflexed white to pink sepals surround smaller white petals; appearing on drooping racemes of 1-5 flowers in spring or early summer.
Fruit: Pea-sized berries that are translucent white when ripe; edible but sour; ripening in mid to late-summer.
Twig: Red-brown to gray-brown, glabrous, one to three spines at each node, small spines between internodes either numerous or absent.
Bark: Red-brown to gray-brown.
Form: A shrub with upright or arching canes; may form thickets.
Looks like: trailing black currant - mountain gooseberry - prickly currant - spreading gooseberry

Additional Range Information: Ribes niveum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information