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 americanum sedge meadows ("Carex" spp.). It grows on plains and in mountains and sometimes in disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is shade-tolerant, growing in the understory of closed-canopy woodlands and forests. This plant is an alternate host for the white pine blister rust ("Cronartium ribicola"), the vector of a pine tree disease. It is sometimes eradicated in attempts to control the rust. The fruit of this plant is known for being made into jam and jelly. It has also been introduced to northern China. Ribes americanum Ribes americanum is a North American species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family