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 tularense Ribes tularense Ribes tularense is a rare species of currant known as the Sequoia gooseberry or Tulare gooseberry. It is endemic to southern California, at elevations between . "Ribes tularense" is known from only about ten populations in the forests of the High Sierra Nevada. These are located in Tulare County except for one population found less than 100 meters east of the county line near Mount Whitney in Inyo County. The species is closely related to "Ribes binominatum". "Ribes tularense" is a low, spiny shrub rarely more than 50 cm (20 inches) tall, often trailing. It has hairy branches