Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Ribes divaricatum is a species of in the genus Ribes found in the forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub of western North America from British Columbia to California. The three accepted varieties have various common names which include the word "gooseberry". Other common names include coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry and, in the UK, Worcesterberry. Ribes divaricatum is a shrub sometimes reaching 3 meters in height with woody branches with one to three thick brown thorns at leaf nodes. The leaves are generally palmate in shape and edged with teeth. The blades are up to 6 centimeters long and borne on petioles. The inflorescence is a small cluster of hanging flowers, each with reflexed purple-tinted green sepals and smaller, lighter petals encircling long, protruding stamens. The fruit is a sweet-tasting berry up to a centimeter wide which is black when ripe. It is similar to Ribes lacustre and Ribes lobbii, but the former has smaller, reddish to maroon flowers and the latter has reddish flowers that resemble those of fuchsias and sticky leaves. Traditional Native American medical plants. The fruit was food for a number of Native American groups of the Pacific Northwest, and other parts of the plant, especially the bark, was used for medicinal purposes.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

6 - 11 ft Tall

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Pink, Purple, White, Green

Flowering season

Spring

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Sunset Zones

5*, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 24

Site type

Bluffs

Plant communities

Wetland-Riparian

Hummingbirds
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 76 likely

Confirmed Likely

Agrochola pulchella

Agrochola purpurea