Virginia Tech Dendrology

mountain gooseberry Grossulariaceae Ribes montigenum McClatchie symbol: RIMO2
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, palmately lobed (3 to 5 lobes), round in outline, 1 to 1 1/2 inch, irregularly round toothed, green and pubescent above and below, sticky; borne on long petioles densely covered in glandular hairs.
Flower: Species is monoecious; showy, yellow-red to coral-pink, tubular flowers, borne June to August, flower stalks covered in sticky glandular hairs, hanging in clusters several inches long.
Fruit: Red or orange-red, round, 1/3 inch berries in a hanging clusters, glandular bristly, ripen in August to September, delicious.
Twig: Initially green changing to red with three spines at the nodes or with small spines densely arranged on the stem, becoming red-brown to gray brown.
Bark: Reddish-brown, smooth.
Form: Small to medium upright shrub to 3 feet tall, often forms thickets.
Looks like: prickly currant - spreading gooseberry - trailing black currant - snow gooseberry

Additional Range Information: Ribes montigenum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 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