FoI
Asian Gooseberry
Share Foto info
Asian Gooseberry
ative Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Asian Gooseberry
Botanical name: Ribes alpestre    Family: Grossulariaceae (Gooseberry family)
Synonyms: Ribes alpestre var. alpestre , Ribes alpestre var. commune

Asian Gooseberry is an erect shrub, l-2 m tall, with 3 prickles at each node. Flowers are pink, about 1 cm in diameter, bisexual, solitary on short pubescent bracteate peduncles. Sepal tube is 3 mm long, bell-shaped, sepals 6 mm long, reflexed. Petals are 3 mm long, stamens protruding. Ovary is velvety with gland tipped hairs. Twigs have inconspicuous gland tipped hairs or bristles. Leaves are crowded on dwarf shoots, l.5-2.8 cm long, l.5-3.6 cm broad, circular in outline, obtusely 3-5-lobed. Lobes are toothed, slightly hairy on both sides, basal nerves 3-7, leaf-stalk 0.5-5 cm long, stipules absent. Berries are globose or ovoid, glandular and velvety, dull red, 1 cm in diameter. Asian Gooseberry is found in the Himalayas, from Afghanistan to SW China, at altitudes of 2400-3600 m. Flowering: May June.

Identification credit: Nongthombam Ullysess Photographed in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh & Badrinath, Uttarakhand.

• Is this flower misidentified? If yes,