Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Penny Perspectives - Black Swamp Gooseberry, Ribes Lacustre



Day 218: Most hikers in the Park will have seen Black Swamp Gooseberry at some time in their travels. The black berries look tempting, and although they're edible, their flavour is bland and unappetizing. In any event, the stems of this gooseberry are a substantial deterrent to picking; sharp, hard spines occur at the nodes and smaller thorns arm the twigs. Despite having few attributes to recommend this shrub to humans, its flowers are beautiful when seen at close range. You'll have to look carefully for them, as this Penny Perspective demonstrates.

1 comment: