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The Black Gooseberry bush is a small shrub growing anywhere from 1 1/2 feet to a yard (1/2 to 1 metre) tall, with small but sharp thorns. It is hardy down to -4 F / -20 C, and prefers to grow in wetlands.

It has glossy, dark green leaves about 1 1/2 inches wide (4 cm) that look a bit like leaves from maple trees. It produces small pinkish flowers and then clusters of 7 to 15 dark purple berries each about 1/5 inch (5 mm) wide. The berries have soft hairs on them.

The berries have an unpleasant odour when first crushed. Some find the fruit edible, pronouncing it juicy and tart, suitable for being cooked up as a sauce or made into a preserve. Others say you could only think it was edible if your taste buds had been afflicted by an unfortunate childhood accident.

History
Black Gooseberries are native to North America as far south as Massachusetts and California.

Language Notes
The Montagnais Indians called the berry "cohosh".

In the scientific name, "Ribes lacustre", "lacustre" means "growing by lakes".

Also called:

Other entries for:

Berries
Akala Berries, Aronia Berries, Assai Berries, Baba Berries, Barberries, Bilberries, Black Gooseberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Buffalo Currants, Bumbleberries, Cape Gooseberries, Cloudberries, Cranberries, Currants, Elderberries, Garden Huckleberries, Gooseberries, Haw Flakes, Hawthorne Berries, Huckleberry, Hudson Bay Currants, Jostaberries, Lingonberries, Mulberries, Otaheite Gooseberry, Raspberries, Red Currants, Saskatoon Berries, Sea Buckthorn, Serendipity Berries, Strawberries, Sunberries, Tayberries, Thimbleberries, Ugni, Waimate Berries, White Currants, Wineberries, Wonderberries, Worcesterberries

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Soft Fruit
Cherries, Grapes

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Fruit
Bananas, Bletting, Candied Fruit, Citrus Fruit, Dried Fruit, Drupes, Hard Fruit, Olives, Rhubarb