Miccosukee Gooseberry

Description

Ribes echinellum, the Miccosukee gooseberry, is a very rare North American shrub in the currant family, native to the southeastern United States. It has only a few known populations. The Florida populations was discovered first, in 1924 at Lake Miccosukee. The South Carolina populations were found in 1957 and 1981, and the first is protected at Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve. Ribes echinellum is a shrub up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall with spines at the nodes (places where the leaves are attached to the stem). Leaves are round or egg-shaped with three lobes. It has whitish or pale yellow flowers and purple spine-covered berries.