Missouri gooseberry

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Missouri gooseberry

Missouri gooseberry flower

Missouri gooseberry stem

Missouri gooseberry leaves

Missouri gooseberry leaf

Missouri gooseberry

Missouri gooseberry leaf

Missouri gooseberry stem

Missouri gooseberry

Missouri gooseberry flowers

Missouri gooseberry bud

Morphology

Stem

Erect; branches arching, armed at nodes with 1-4, stiff, red to brown spines, 1/3 to 2/3 inch long; bark gray, splitting on older branches.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, stalked, circular in outline, deeply 3-5 lobed, 1 to 2.5 inches long, almost as wide, nearly glabrous above, softly hairy below; margins toothed; often clustered on short, lateral branches.

Inflorescence

Solitary or clusters of 2-4 flowers; stalks slender, 2/5 to 4/5 inch long.

Flower

To 1/2 inch long, white to pale greenish, drooping; sepals 5, linear-oblong, erect early but later bent conspicuously outwards or backwards; petals 5, forming tube around stamens; stamens 5, filaments protruding, about 3 times longer than petals.

Fruit

Berries, spherical, less than 1/2 inch in diameter, smooth, purplish; seeds numerous, egg-shaped, smooth, black.

Ecology

Habitat

Open rocky woods, thickets, and woodland edges.

Distribution

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Missouri gooseberry provides food and cover for birds and wildlife. Native Americans ate the fruits fresh or dried during the winter. The berries sometimes are used in pies and jams.