Ribes uva-crispa
The gooseberry ,with scientific names Ribes uva-crispa (and syn. Ribes grossularia), is a species of Ribes (which also includes the currants).
It is native to Europe, the Caucasus and northern Africa. The species is also sparingly naturalised in scattered locations in North America. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both a commercial and domestic basis. Its native distribution is unclear, since it may have escaped from cultivation and become naturalised. For example, in Britain, some sources consider it to be a native, others to be an introduction.
The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and width, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers are produced, singly or in pairs, from the groups of rounded, deeply crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. The fruit are berries, smaller in wild gooseberries than the cultivated varieties, but often of good flavour; it is generally hairy, but in one variety, smooth constituting the R. uva-crispa of writers. The colour of the berries is usually green, but there are red (to purple), yellow, and white variants. (Ribes hirtellum fruit can be green or dark purple to black.)