Ribes missouriense

Missouri gooseberry
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Grossulariaceae
Genus:	Ribes
Species:	R. missouriense
Binomial name
Ribes missouriense Nutt ex Torr. & A.Gray[1]
Synonyms[2]
Ribes missouriense var. ozarkanum Fassett Grossularia missouriensis (Nutt.) Coville & Britton

Ribes missouriense, the Missouri gooseberry, Missouri currant or wild gooseberry, is a prickly, many-stemmed shrub native to the north-central United States (Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and lower Missouri Valleys). Scattered populations have been found farther east, most of them very likely escapes from cultivation.^[2][3][4]

The Missouri gooseberry was once common as far east as Ohio, but was nearly extirpated there during the 19th and 20th centuries (partly due to early 20th-century efforts to prevent the spread of white pine blister rust by removing as many Ribes hosts as possible). Since 1982, however, the Missouri gooseberry has been granted protected status as an endangered species in Ohio,^[2][5] It is also endangered in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.^[2]

The edible berries of the shrub are commonly called "gooseberries" by locals, but since it is taxonomically closer to currants than to the European gooseberry, they are sometimes called "currants" when grown outside their historic range.^{[citation needed]}

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