Swamp Gooseberry

Ribes hirtellum

Pollinator Value

🐝 Specialist Bee Host: S17 genus found in Fowler table but specific species not extracted
❄️ Winter Food Source: Genus Ribes fruits consumed by 12 bird species including American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Grosbeak, Red-eyed Vireo, and Eastern Kingbird. Grouse species (Dusky Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Chukar) consume significant volumes. Berries ripen midsummer and may persist into early fall, providing a food resource for songbirds and upland game birds.
S57 Avian Diet Database genus-level records

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5), nationally secure in Canada (N5). S5 in both Ontario and Quebec. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Uncommon in the Ottawa area according to Brunton (2005) but well-documented across the broader region with 680 Ontario and 429 Quebec preserved specimens.
S22+S26+S62+S48
Rarity Ranks: QC S5 – Secure, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Occurs in moist rocky woods, cedar and tamarack swamps, fens, sedge meadows, coastal thickets, riverbottom forests, and treed wetlands. In the Ottawa-Gatineau region it occupies forest edges, wetland margins, and calcareous fen habitats. A characteristic species of the shrub layer in boreal and mixed-wood wetlands, often growing with Betula pumila, Potentilla fruticosa, and Cornus stolonifera.
S6+S7+S4+S48

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Insectary Plant, Shelterbelter, Wildlife Habitat
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Insectary Plant: S72 Hemenway (tables: 10-1, appendix_a, pp. 149, 186)] | Shelterbelter: S72 Hemenway (tables: 10-1, appendix_a, pp. 149, 186)] | Wildlife Habitat: S72 Hemenway (tables: 10-1, appendix_a, pp. 149, 186)]
Notes: Functions as a hedgerow and insectary plant in permaculture guilds. Its early spring bloom provides nectar and pollen for native bees, while the thorny habit offers barrier planting and wildlife shelter. Listed in Hemenway (Gaia's Garden) as a shrub-layer component for hedgerow, insectary, and wildlife habitat roles.
S72+S29+S4

✅ Edible ✅ Commonly Eaten

Foraging Notes: Fruit eaten raw or cooked in jams, jellies, pies, and preserves. A smooth-skinned gooseberry with a pleasant taste, 8-10 mm diameter, greenish to purplish to black when ripe. Fruit can be dried for later use. Klamath people used fresh and dried berries for food. This species is the parent of many disease-resistant American gooseberry cultivars.
S29+S28+S4