Flower profile

Mountain gooseberry

Ribes montigenum

Mountain gooseberry (Ribes montigenum) is a shrub in the Grossulariaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly June–July across the U.S.

Native to Utah

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

11states where USDA records it

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.
From Wikipedia's article Ribes montigenum, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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 153 flowers on our Utah list. ^iNaturalist

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.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

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.

Growing conditions

USDA PLANTS gives Mountain gooseberry a medium shade tolerance, high drought tolerance and medium moisture use. It is rated for soil pH 7.0 to 8.0 and winter lows down to -3 °F.

Shade tolerance: Medium
Drought tolerance: High
Moisture use: Medium
Soil textures it is adapted to: coarse, medium
Soil pH range: 7.0 to 8.0
Minimum temperature tolerated: -3 °F
Frost-free days needed (minimum): 120
Annual precipitation range: 10 to 35 inches
Minimum root depth: 12 inches
Salinity tolerance: None
Fertility requirement: Medium
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Moderate
Active growth period: Spring and Summer
Fruit or seed: Brown · Summer to Fall
Can be propagated by: bare root, container, cuttings, seed
Commercial availability: Routinely Available

From the USDA PLANTS characteristics data for RIMO2. USDA ratings are general guidance for the species, not a guarantee for your garden.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native.

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Limnobotrya montigena, Ribes lentum, Ribes nubigenum.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 166 counties across 11 states; the most are in Colorado (29), Utah (25), California (23).

Other Ribes on Bloomipedia (5): Red-flowering currant, Golden currant, Wax currant, Missouri gooseberry, Stink currant.

More Utah flowers

Golden currant

Ribes aureum

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🌼 Blooms in UT: April–May

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

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🌼 Blooms in UT: April–June

Showy milkweed

Asclepias speciosa

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🌼 Blooms in UT: June–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile RIMO2.
iNaturalist, Ribes montigenum: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Ribes montigenum (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Ribes montigenum (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Anders Hastings via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.