# Are these gooseberries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258 "2019-05-20T21:57:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/1 "2019-05-20T21:57:50Z")
A friend has a volunteer plant in his yard that has berries on it. He’s interested in whether they’re edible. The fruit look like gooseberries to me, but I’m not sure about the leaves. My friend lives in the Cincinnati area. [Here’s a picture](http://swazoo.com/berries1.png). Can someone identify this plant? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/2 "2019-05-20T23:09:35Z")
They look identical to a bush we had in the backyard when I was a kid, which we referred to as gooseberries, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/3 "2019-05-21T00:26:23Z")
They might be currants that haven’t turned red yet. But the leaves are right for either. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/4 "2019-05-21T08:40:42Z")
I think they’re gooseberries- they show signs of the stripes and look a bit too big to be one of the currants. On the other hand, they don’t have thorns, and the stems are green rather than woody, which is what I grew up with. Perhaps they’re one of the fancy dessert cultivars. Have fun finding out once they ripen! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/5 "2019-05-21T09:48:46Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > They might be currants that haven’t turned red yet. But the leaves are right for either. I was going to say this - I have a blackcurrant bush and a redcurrant bush that both look like this right now, including the green berries. You should be able to tell by rubbing and smelling the leaves (which should smell like the berries). They look too small to be gooseberries to me, although I guess they might still be growing. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/7 "2019-05-21T10:31:25Z")
They are _not_ gooseberries; the leaves are the wrong shape, and the berries are in long strands, whereas gooseberries grow singly or in small clusters. They’re currants, probably red or white, which are just colour varieties of the same basic plant. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/8 "2019-05-21T11:50:15Z")
I thought it was illegal to grow currants in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-gooseberries/834258/9 "2019-05-21T12:04:46Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I thought it was illegal to grow currants in the US. Mostly it is legal now. In the 1930’s it was discovered that Ribes species were alternate hosts for white pine blister rust (which invaded from Europe), and the lumber industry waged war on domestic and wild Ribes. Turns out there are several more, ineradicable, alternate hosts, and meanwhile in Europe rust-resistant gooseberries and currants (and pines) were developed. The federal ban was lifted although [a handful of states](https://thegreenergrassfarm.com/2015/02/08/forbidden-fruit-2-state-by-state-legality-of-gooseberry-and-currant-berry-laws-regarding-plants-in-the-ribes-genus/) still have restrictions or outright bans.