Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry
Ribes Speciosum, Pursh. Saxifrage Family
Shrubs six to ten feet high, with spreading branches, armed with large triple thorns. Leaves.—Evergreen; three- to five-lobed; an inch or so long. Flowers.—Bright cardinal; an inch long. Calyx.—Petaloid; its tube adnate to the ovary; the limb is usually five-cleft (sometimes four). Petals.—On the sinuses of the calyx. Stamens.—As many as the petals; twice the length of the calyx. Ovary.—One-celled. Style two-cleft. Fruit.—A dry, densely glandular berry. Hab.—From Monterey to San Diego.
One of the most charming shrubs to be found in the southern part of the State is the Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. Early in the season the long sprays of its spreading branches are thickly hung with the beautiful drooping cardinal flowers, which gleam against the rich green of the glossy leaves. The stems often rival the flowers in brilliance of coloring, but they harbor a multitude of formidable thorns which serve to cool our impetuous desire to possess ourselves of the blossoms. Though far more brilliant than the flowers of R. subvestitum, these are not so truly counterparts in miniature of the garden Fuchsia as they.
FUCHSIA-FLOWERED GOOSEBERRY—Ribes speciosum.