Ribes inerme Rydb.

vernacular whitestem gooseberry — species · Grossulariaceae

USDA: RIIN2
GBIF: 2986112
Rank: species

whitestem gooseberry (Ribes inerme) — Platephotograph · Jared ManninenCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Grossulariaceae DC.
Genus: Ribes

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: Medium
CaCO₃: Low
Hedging: Medium

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -28 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 130 min.
Precipitation: 12–24 in/yr
pH range: 6–7.5
Root depth: 12 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 8 ft
Height @ 20 y: 8 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Green
Fruit colour: Red
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Mid Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Spring
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 372,667
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 3 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/RIIN2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2986112 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z