The gooseberry or (American) or (British);, with scientific names Ribes uva-crispa (and syn. Ribes grossularia), is a species of Ribes (which also includes the currants). It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, west, south and southeast Asia. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both a commercial and domestic basis.
Although usually placed as a subgenus within Ribes, a few taxonomists treat Grossularia as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant (e.g., the jostaberry) are possible. The subgenus Grossularia differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus Grossularia; for the other related species (e.g., North American Gooseberry Ribes hirtellum), see the genus page Ribes.
The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1–3 metres (3–10 feet) tall, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers are produced, singly or in pairs, from the groups of rounded, deeply crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. The fruit of wild gooseberries is smaller than in the cultivated varieties, but is often of good flavour; it is generally hairy, but in one variety smooth, constituting the R. uva-crispa of writers; berries' colour is usually green, but there are red variants and occasionally deep purple berries occur.
The gooseberry is indigenous to many parts of Europe and western, south and southeast Asia, growing naturally in alpine thickets and rocky woods in the lower country, from France eastward, well into the Himalayas and peninsular India.
Currant and gooseberry output in 2005
In Britain, gooseberry bushes are often found in copses and hedgerows and about old ruins, but the gooseberry has been cultivated for so long that it is difficult to distinguish wild bushes from feral ones, or where the gooseberry fits into the native flora of the island. Common as it is now on some of the lower slopes of the Alps of Piedmont and Savoy, it is uncertain whether the Romans were acquainted with the gooseberry, though it may possibly be alluded to in a vague passage of Pliny the
Elder's Natural History; the hot summers of Italy, in ancient times as at present, would be unfavourable to its cultivation. Although gooseberries are now abundant in Germany and France, it does not appear to have been much grown there in the Middle Ages, though the wild fruit was held in some esteem medicinally for the cooling properties of its acid juice in fevers; while the old English name, Fea-berry, still surviving in some provincial dialects, indicates that it was similarly valued in Britain, where it was planted in gardens at a comparatively early period.
William Turner describes the gooseberry in his Herball, written about the middle of the 16th century, and a few years later it is mentioned in one of Thomas Tusser's quaint rhymes as an ordinary object of garden culture. Improved varieties were probably first raised by the skilful gardeners of Holland, whose name for the fruit, Kruisbezie, may have been corrupted into the present English vernacular word. Towards the end of the 18th century the gooseberry became a favourite object of cottage-horticulture, especially in Lancashire, where the working cotton-spinners have raised numerous varieties from seed, their efforts having been chiefly directed to increasing the size of the fruit. It is a good source of vitamin C.
Of the many hundred varieties enumerated in recent horticultural works, few perhaps equal in flavour some of the older denizens of the fruit-garden, such as the Old Rough Red and Hairy Amber. The climate of the British Isles seems peculiarly adapted to bring the gooseberry to perfection,[citation needed] and it may be grown successfully even in the most northern parts of Scotland where it is commonly known as a "grozet"; indeed, the flavour of the fruit is said to improve with increasing latitude. In Norway (where it's named "stikkelsbær" — or "prickly berry"), the bush flourishes in gardens on the west coast nearly up to the Arctic circle, and it is found wild as far north as 63°. The dry summers of the French and German plains are less suited to it, though it is grown in some hilly districts with tolerable success. The gooseberry in the south of England will grow well in cool situations, and may be sometimes seen in gardens near London flourishing under the partial shade of apple trees; but in the north it needs full exposure to the sun to bring the fruit to perfection. It will succeed in almost any soil, but prefers a rich loam or black alluvium, and, though naturally a plant of rather dry places, will do well in moist land, if drained. It is also widely found in villages throughout the former Czechoslovakia.
Advantage of Gooseberry
With the increasing prominence of medical conditions almost completely taking over people’s lives, it is important to have some amount of an understanding of the various factors that play a role in keeping your body healthy. Besides this, one should also ensure that any complications are minimized to a substantial degree. The ability of the human body is dictated to a significant degree by the kinds of foods that it is provided.
However it is also necessary that one has an understanding of which foods are known to be healthier choices than others as this is likely to put you in a great position to be able to take better care of your body. One of the healthier natural substances that is widely used in a number of home remedy recipes to fight off a variety of medical conditions is the Indian gooseberry. Some of the more prominent gooseberry benefits revolve around the fact that the tiny berry is extremely high in vitamin C content.
This characteristic makes it the most powerful rejuvenating agent known to man thus far. Because of this vitamin C potency, the gooseberry benefits are taken advantage of by being commonly included in a number of supplements as well as tonics in order to allow the vitamin C to be easily assimilated into the body.
Some of the other gooseberry benefits stem from other constituents of the berry such as its calcium, phosphorous, iron, carotene and vitamin B complex components that all help in the maintenance and functioning of the body to a significant degree. One of the most popular health benefits of the Indian gooseberry is its potency in proper eye care.
The best way to exploit the gooseberry benefits when dealing with the eye is to mix some amount of gooseberry juice with honey to help minimize and, eventually, completely treat conditions like cataract, nearsightedness and intraocular tension. Another one of the more popular of the berries benefits is its work when dealing with hair care problems.
The tonics present in the juice of the gooseberry help enrich hair growth as well as hair pigmentation. This is the primary reason that you are likely to see a number of hair oils list the gooseberry as a major ingredient.
Studies have listed the gooseberry nutrition facts as each berry containing about 80% water and the combination of its ingredients helping substantially with lowering cholesterol levels as well. The gooseberry benefits can be taken advantage of in a fresh fruit, juiced or even dry form of the fruit.
Gooseberry is the berry of a species named Ribes which is a native of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.
Greek and Indian medicine sciences advocate that the gooseberry has a lot of health benefits.
Some of the health benefits of gooseberry are as follows:
Gooseberry helps in treating various eye ailments including nearsightedness and cataract. You should take gooseberry juice with honey to enhance your eye sight.
Gooseberry is an important ingredient of many hair tonics. Gooseberry enhances hair pigmentation and hair growth. It strengthens your hair from the roots and maintains the color and luster of hair.
Gooseberry is a potent appetizer and as such, it enhances your appetite. You should consume gooseberry powder with honey and butter before meals so as to increase your appetite.
Gooseberry also regulates the nitrogen levels of your body, thereby helping you gain weight in a healthy way.
Gooseberry is also an anti ageing agent. It prevents hyperlipidaemia by reducing oxidative stress in the ageing process.
Gooseberry also helps in preventing diabetes. Gooseberry is rich in chromium which has immense therapeutic value in treating diabetes. Gooseberry stimulates the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin. As such, it is instrumental in relieving the symptoms of diabetes.
Gooseberry also prevents the incidence of heart ailments. It strengthens your heart muscles and as such, facilitates the free flow of blood in the body without any obstruction.
Gooseberry also strengthens your immune system, thereby protecting you against various ailments.
Gooseberry is antibacterial and an astringent and as such, it protects your body against various infections.
On account of its cool and laxative properties, gooseberry may also be used to cure diseases like diarrhea and dysentery. Gooseberry provides relief in gastric syndrome and hyperchlorhydria (inflammation of the alimentary canal).
Gooseberry forms an important component of any detox diet. Gooseberry contains twenty times the content of Vitamin C as compared to lemon and as such, has high levels of antioxidants that detoxify your body.
Gooseberry is also instrumental in regulating the cholesterol level of the body, thereby preventing the incidence of heart attacks.
Gooseberry is rich in proteins and as such, acts as a body building agent by repairing old cells and forming new ones.
Gooseberry is a rich source of iron and helps in promoting the normal functioning of the circulatory and reproductive systems.
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