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 lacustre Ribes lacustre The shrub Ribes lacustre is known by the common names prickly currant, black swamp gooseberry, and black gooseberry. It is widely distributed, from California to Alaska and across North America east to Pennsylvania and Newfoundland, and south as far as New Mexico. The shrub grows erect to spreading, 0.5–2 m. Clusters of reddish to maroon flowers bloom in spring. The fruit consists of dark purple berries 6–8 mm long. It blooms in April through August and may be found in low-elevation forests to the subalpine. Outside its native range, "Ribes" species may be invasive. For example, in Michigan,