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 roezlii Ribes roezlii Ribes roezlii is a North American species of currant known by the common name Sierra gooseberry. "Ribes roezlii" is native to many of the mountain ranges of California, its distribution extending east into Nevada and north into Oregon. Its habitat includes chaparral, woodlands, and forested areas. "Ribes roezlii" is a spiny shrub growing erect to a maximum height around . The hairless to hairy or woolly leaves are up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long and divided into 3 or 5 rounded, toothed lobes. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or raceme of 2 or 3 small wind-pollinated