Toddy said:
It's a cultivated escapee. The Victorians loved their gooseberries but commercial growers aren't so keen on the little red ones, despite the better taste and their resistance to disease, because they don't produce big, hair free fruit. I agree though much nicer to eat, and we call them the wild gooseberries too.
Cheers,
Toddy
It could be given the close proximity to a dwelling (or previous habitation, now gone),
but given the description Scott gives, I would say he is right when he calls them 'wild'. The cultivated varieties of gooseberry come from the
Wild Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) which is a
native plant of the British Isles & Europe, found in old woodland and not garden escapes (though they do cross breed too) They need a hot summer to fully ripen in Britain and become sweet enough to eat.
On the dry, harsh Causse (limestone plateau) around my village here in France they grow in profusion (gooseberries are hardly grown here in gardens).
Wild Gooseberry. Causse Comtal (c.550m) May 2004. In Flower
Wild Gooseberry. Muret Cascade. May 2004. Flower Detail
Some fruits were not cultivated until surprisingly late. Both the gooseberry and strawberry had long been appreciated from the wild. The first record of gooseberry cultivation is from the 13th century. Once brought in from the wild, the development of larger, sweeter and juicier fruit was possible.
source:
http://www.exploreyourcountryside.com/toa/fr_hist.html
Plenty of information on description, edibility and other uses here on the PFAF Database:
PFAF - Ribes uva-crispa - Gooseberry
Be wary of eating or using any other part of the plant. I have seen it suggested that the young leaves can be eaten in salads etc. But the leaves contain hydrogen cyanide and thus potentially toxic.
The same is true for the
Mountain (Wild) Currant (Ribes alpinum), also native in the British Isles & Europe and a member of the same species.
Mountain Currant. July 2005. Aubrac Plateau (1350m)
Mountain Currant. July 2005. Fruit Detail
Note, the fruit turn red when fully ripe.
The
Black currant (Ribes nigrum) also grows in the wild but as a long-established garden escape, occurring in wet woods and shaded streamsides.
You can often see the non-native
Flowering currrant (Ribes sanguineum) planted in urban locations as an ornamental shrub. A native of North America, it is occasionally naturalised in the British Isles. The fruit are really tasteless but can be eaten. See the PFAF site for more details here:
PFAF - Ribes sanguineum - Flowering Currant
Finally, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has a great little recipe for
wild gooseberry ice cream , in his recently republished book,
A Cook On The Wild Side. page 136. Oh, and we used to call them 'goosegogs' too...
Happy foraging
