General Details
Dakota Name:
Wicahdeṡka
Scientific Name:
Ribes missouriense
Alternate Names:
Wild gooseberry
Height:
Grows 2 - 6 feet
Flowers:
Drooping, trumpet-shaped, greenish-white to white flowers bloom April to May. Solitary or in small clusters of 2-3.
Fruit:
Pollinated female flowers give way to spherical, tart, juicy, green fruits up to 1/2 inch in diameter. Ripen to purple in summer.
Habitat:
Woods, woodland margins, dry rocky woods, thickets, woodland borders and grazed areas.
Plant Characteristics
A dense, rounded, deciduous shrub with upright-spreading to arching stems, typically growing as wide as it is tall. It is noted for having showy spring flowers, edible fruits, lobed leaves that are shaped like an open palm, and stout thorns. This shrub requires both male and female plants for fruit production. Fruits may be eaten fresh off the plant or may be picked for use in juices, syrups, jellies, preserves and pies. Green, 3-5 lobed leaves up to 2 inches long with some blunt marginal teeth may acquire attractive shades of reddish-brown to purple in fall. Thorns up to 3/4 inch long.
Dakota Cultural Use
The berries of this plant were used for food.