Ribes ambiguum var. ambiguum ("Yashabishaku")

Japanese name: ヤシャビシャク （夜叉柄杓）
Scientific name: Ribes ambiguum var. ambiguum

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub that grows attached to the trunks of deciduous trees, 30–50 cm tall, sometimes reaching 1 m.
The roots creep over the trunk of the host tree.
It branches well from the base; young branches are brown and at first have short hairs, but later become hairless.
The bark splits lengthwise and peels off.
The leaves are alternate, 3–5 cm long and wide, and palmately shallowly 3–5-lobed.
Both surfaces of the leaves have short hairs, and the margin has shallow, notched, blunt teeth.
The petiole is 1.5–3 cm long and densely covered with short hairs.
The flowers are borne singly or in bundles of two in the leaf axils at the tips of short shoots; they are yellowish green with 5 petals, and the calyx is more conspicuous.
The flower stalk has 2 small bracts in an opposite arrangement.
The fruit is spherical to ovoid, ripens green, and is entirely covered with needle-like spines.

[Uses]
It is used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries during the growing period, and during dormancy water only enough that the soil does not dry out completely; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes dry.
In spring, apply organic fertilizer.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The name is said to derive from the shape of the fruit.

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