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Missouri gooseberry produces groups (racemes or corymbs) of 1-3 flowers on a horizontal flower stalk near some leaf petioles; the 1/4-1/2" long flower pedicels droop downward, so the axis of the flower is vertical. An egg-shaped, sessile bract is present at the base of each flower stalk. Missouri gooseberry flowers are easy to overlook because they don't comport with one's usual idea of "flowers" — they are very elongate, as if viewed in a fun house mirror. The flowers have a very narrow, white or greenish-white, tubular calyx with 4-5 oblong, spreading or reflected sepal lobes as long as the calyx; five short, erect petals extending from the calyx; and 4-5 stamens that double the vertical length of the flower. Hidden inside, at the base of the calyx, is a smooth ovary topped by a single pistil with one style; only the style is visible externally, sometimes extending past the stamens during flowering. After fertilization, the flower parts wither and the ovary expands into a smooth, globular berry 6-12 mm in diameter containing numerous tiny seeds; the berry is initially green, turning dull red or dull purple when ripe. If you see a gooseberry in Jackson Park with a prickly surface on the fruit (looking like a miniature, green medieval mace), it is prickly gooseberry, Ribes cynosbati, which also has lobed leaves. I have yet to see prickly gooseberry in Jackson Park, but it is known to occur in northern Illinois.

Ribes

Ribes missouriense

Missouri gooseberry [Blooms: Apr-May]