Ribena pure fruit syrups for the manufacture of milkshakes had been done at the Long Ashton Agriculture and Horticulture Research Station in North Somerset using a pectinase enzyme process; Ribena was essentially invented there by Vernon Charley, a scientist at the University of Bristol in 1933. The blackcurrant variety was found to contain high levels of vitamin C. The drink was launched in 1938 under the name Ribena (from the botanical name for the blackcurrant, "Ribes nigrum"). During the Second World War, other fruits rich in vitamin C, like oranges, became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom, due to
Ribes marshallii Ribes marshallii Ribes marshallii is a North American species of currant known by the common names Hupa gooseberry and Marshall's gooseberry. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. "Ribes marshallii" grows in mountain coniferous forests. It is a shrub producing arching stems 1 to 2 meters (40-80 inches) long which may root at the tip when it reaches moist substrate. Nodes on the stem bear three spines each up to a centimeter (0.4 inch) long. The lightly hairy leaves are roughly three centimeters (1.2 inches) long and are divided into a few widely toothed