The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and width, 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 fruits are berries, smaller in wild gooseberries than the cultivated varieties, but often of good flavor. The berries are usually green, but there are red, purple, yellow, and white variants.