Jostaberry Jostaberry The jostaberry ("Ribes" × "nidigrolaria") is a complex-cross fruit bush in the genus "Ribes", involving three original species, the black currant "R. nigrum", the North American coastal black gooseberry "R. divaricatum", and the European gooseberry "R. uva-crispa". It is similar to "Ribes × culverwellii", the Jochelbeere, which is descended from just two of these species, "R. nigrum" and "R. uva-crispa". The cultivated plants are tetraploid. They are descended from two separate first-generation crosses, both of which produced very few fruit. Fertile tetraploids were produced using colchicine. The name "Jostaberry" was created via combining the German words for blackcurrant and
Ribes marshallii lobes. Glandular hairs occur on veins and leaf margins. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or raceme of up to three flowers which hang pendent from the branches from leaf axils. The small, showy flower has five pointed purple-red sepals which are reflexed upward. At the center is a tubular corolla of bright yellow petals from which emerge five stamens and two thin, mostly fused styles. The fruit is a prickly oblong berry up to 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) long which ripens to dark red. The fruits are edible and reputedly palatable. Ribes marshallii Ribes marshallii is a North American