| Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Grossulariaceae |
| Genus: | Ribes |
| Species: | R. speciosum |
| Binomial name | |
| Ribes speciosum Pursh [1] |
|
| Synonyms | |
Ribes speciosum is a species of gooseberry with elongate, red flowers that resemble those of fuchsia; its common name is fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges.
It is a spreading shrub which can reach three meters in maximum height, its stems coated in bristles with three long spines at each stem node. The leathery leaves are shallowly divided into several lobes and are mostly hairless, the upper surfaces dark green and shiny. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or raceme of up to four flowers. The flower is a tube made up of the gland-studded scarlet sepals with the four red petals inside. The red stamens and stigmas protrude far from the mouth of the flower, measuring up to 4 centimeters long each. The fruit is a red-orange berry about a centimeter long which is covered densely in glandular bristles.
The plant is used in gardens, in dappled to bright light, in dry gardens and under oaks.