Grow Your Own Magazine

I have acquired a gooseberry bush which was dug up from some horticultural place and left at our allotment site (there were numerous but quite big so I only took one). I was told they were quite old and no longer needed but thought I may aswell stick it in the ground and see what happens. I have never even tasted a gooseberry so you can imagine what I know about growing them, it really is a nice bush and is sprouting new leaves all over but it is covered in something that looks like hardened moss or some kind of mould which my OH has begun picking off. Is that just what happens to really old trees? Any ideas what it could be?

May well be lichen which shows it was planted in a damp, shady place previously.
Hope you'll be pleased with it!
Strange how your taste buds change when you've GYO !!!