scrap pad

gooseberries

I loved eating gooseberries this summer, but they "serve as an alternate host for white pine blister rust, which can cause serious damage to white pines. For this reason, there are laws against gooseberry cultivation in some places." I heard about the laws against cultivation this summer, interesting to find out why. Apparently currant-family bushes in general serve as an alternate host (the disease has to go from currant->pine->currant->pine...). it's a european/asian disease, and european/asian pines are mostly resistant to it. which would be why currant-things are so popular in europe (Ireland is about the scope of my experience) as opposed to in the US where you barely hear of currants.