WILD GOOSEBERRY.
Ribes Menziesii, Pursh. Saxifrage Family.
Shrubs two to six feet high, with naked glandular-bristly or prickly branches and stout triple thorns under the fascicled leaves. Peduncles.—With one or two drooping, Fuchsia-like flowers. Calyx.—Half an inch long; garnet; the five oblong lobes somewhat longer than the tube, but hardly longer than the stamens, which surpass the five white petals with inrolled edges. Styles exserted. Anthers sagittate. Berry.—Four to six lines in diameter; thickly covered with long prickles. (Otherwise as Ribes glutinosum.) Hab.—From San Diego to Humboldt County; also in the Sierras.
The wild gooseberry, considered as a fruit, is very disappointing, as its large, prickly berries are composed mostly of skin and seeds. But as an ornamental shrub it is very pleasing. In February its long, thorny branches are densely clothed with small but rich green leaves, under which hang the perfect little miniature red and white Fuchsias.
A closely allied species—R. subvestitum, Hook. and Arn.,—has long exserted filaments and glandular-prickly berries.
FUCHSIA-FLOWERED GOOSEBERRY.
Ribes speciosum, Pursh. Saxifrage Family.
Shrubs six to ten feet high, with spreading branches, armed with large triple thorns. Leaves.—Evergreen; three- to five-lobed; an inch or so long. Flowers.—Bright cardinal; an inch long. Calyx.—Petaloid; its tube adnate to the ovary; the limb is usually five-cleft (sometimes four). Petals.—On the sinuses of the calyx. Stamens.—As many as the petals; twice the length of the calyx. Ovary.—One-celled. Style two-cleft. Fruit.—A dry, densely glandular berry. Hab.—From Monterey to San Diego.
One of the most charming shrubs to be found in the southern part of the State is the Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. Early in the season the long sprays of its spreading branches are thickly hung with the beautiful drooping cardinal flowers, which gleam against the rich green of the glossy leaves. The stems often rival the flowers in brilliance of coloring, but they harbor a multitude of formidable thorns which serve to cool our impetuous desire to possess ourselves of the blossoms. Though far more brilliant than the flowers of R. subvestitum, these are not so truly counterparts in miniature of the garden Fuchsia as they.