Mysterious Berries in Burnaby

Hi,

Can anyone here identify these berries? It was sold to us as a black currant bush but it is clearly not.

Thank you very much.

Gloria

 

Gooseberries

 

Here are my gooseberry bushes. I have already picked my berries so there are not to many berries to take a picture of. The berries are very tart like Rhubarb. The redder you let them get the sweeter they are. I make either Gooseberry jam, pie or a topping for kuchen. They are a lot of work to clean. I pick mine when they are green. They have a stem and dead blossom to cut off. The bushes have nasty thorns don't they.

 

suggest it may be Ribes Odoratum [Buffalo currant]

 

Both Ribes nigrum and R. odoratum are called black currant. That's why yours doesn't look like R. nigrum.

 

In spring you should be able to confirm the id. as R Odoratum has bright golden yellow flowers.Hope this helps.

 

Could also be a Josta; those are a cross of gooseberries and black currants.

 

Without a question I can say they look to be Goose berrys. The pies I have eaten made from goose berrys are grand let them get good and ripe first they get sweeter with a good summer ripening.

 

Many thanks to everyone here for such a quick reaction and desire to help. Following your feedback, neither Wikipedia nor Google image search for a good photo of Ribes Odoratum berries (not flowers) were helpful.

I am more inclined to think that this is a variety of blackcurrant because:

1. We have a gooseberry bush growing near this bush - and we are aware that there are red and white (amber) gooseberries - and although the leaves look very similar at first glance, if you take a closer look, you will see that its leaves have pointed tips whereas gooseberry has rounded leaf tips.
2. Gooseberry usually has berries growing separately on individual sprigs while here, if you look at my photo, these berries grow in small bunches.
3. Josta berries are said to be elongated while ours are perfectly round.
4. Indeed, in spring, as we recall, this bush had bright golden yellow flowers.
5. As well, the leaves on this plant (Ribes Odoratum?) do not smell at all while black currant leaves have a strong pleasant smell.

I wonder if we can eat these berries - or is that an ornamental shrub (according to a comment on one website I came across that had a photo similar to mine but too small to be sure). We haven't tasted them yet.

Gloria in Burnaby

 

There are no Ribes with poisonous fruit, so eating the fruit will be safe. Whether they taste good is another matter - they might be too sharp for anything other than cooking.

 

Leaves not those of Ribes nigrum. Immature fruits do look like gooseberries, with similar shape and veining. R. odoratum so-named for fragrant flowers, not aromatic leaves. Try Googling "gooseberry" for pictures to compare with yours, or go to a nursery or other place (such as a demonstration garden or garden of a friend or neighbor who is growing them) that might have the same kind

 

My Jostas bore nearly perfectly round fruits very similar to gooseberries and had leaves that match your plant's completely.