Bloomipedia
Mountain gooseberry (Ribes montigenum)
Photo: Anders Hastings via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Mountain gooseberry

Ribes montigenum

Native to Utah

Mountain gooseberry is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states.

11states
666UT sightings*
2,551U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Utah

Quick look

Ribes montigenum is a North American species of currant known by the common names mountain gooseberry, alpine prickly currant, western prickly gooseberry, and gooseberry currant.

  • It belongs to the Grossulariaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 11 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to Utah. NatureServe
  • USDA PLANTS lists its flower color as red. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS gives its bloom period as early summer. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists a mature height of about 1 ft. USDA PLANTS
  • iNaturalist has 666 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #89 among the 109 flowers on our Utah list. iNaturalist

Mountain gooseberry gift ideas

Handmade mountain gooseberry gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (136 records)

There are only a handful of Utah flowering records, so this chart uses records from across the U.S.

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G4 Apparently secure worldwide. NatureServe
Utah
No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Utah.
Rare elsewhere
No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records mountain gooseberry in 11 states.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Piute, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber.

More Utah flowers

Golden currant (Ribes aureum)

Golden currant

Ribes aureum

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: March–May
Plains pricklypear (Opuntia polyacantha)

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: April–June
Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)

Showy milkweed

Asclepias speciosa

Native

🌼 Blooms in UT: May–August

Sources