Bush lawyer (plant)

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Bush lawyer
Rubus cissoides 11.JPG
Rubus cissoides
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Rubus
Subgenus: Rubus subg. Micranthobatus
Species

Bush lawyer is a common name of a group of climbing blackberry plants (subgenus Micranthobatus of the genus Rubus ) that are found in New Zealand, many of them rampant forest vines. There are five native species of bush lawyer in New Zealand, all endemic: Rubus australis, R. cissoides, R. parvus, R. schmideloides and R. squarrosus. [1] [2]

Contents

The Māori language name of the plant is tātarāmoa.

Tātaramoa or bush lawyer has hooked thorns that snag clothing and rip or prick the skin. [3]

The colloquial English name is often said to have been given because once this thorny plant becomes attached to you it will not let you go until it has drawn blood: [4]

Some overseas trampers might not understand or appreciate the common name of Rubus cissoides, but North Americans certainly do. In New Zealand the thorny vine is best known as bush lawyer. Found throughout the country up to 1000m, the plant has hand-shaped leaves with three to five toothed 'fingers', white flowers and a yellowish-red fruit. The berry is shaped like a small blackberry and was once used by early Europeans to make jams and jellies. But the plant's most noticeable feature is its thorns.

The backward-pointing prickles on the stems help the vine climb to the open canopy of a forest but also snare unwary trampers who stray from the track. You'll immediately know bush lawyer when you encounter it as the thorns will painfully scrape across your bare thighs or arms, quickly drawing blood. And, like any good American lawyer, once it gets a hold of you, it doesn't let go easily.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackberry</span> Fruit of Rubus species

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<i>Rubus occidentalis</i> Berry and plant

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Bush lawyer may refer to the following:

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<i>Rubus pensilvanicus</i> Berry and plant

Rubus pensilvanicus, known commonly as Pennsylvania blackberry, is a prickly bramble native to eastern and central North America from Newfoundland south to Georgia, west as far as Ontario, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Arkansas. The species is also established as a naturalized plant in California.

<i>Muehlenbeckia complexa</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Muehlenbeckia astonii</i> Species of shrub

Muehlenbeckia astonii or shrubby tororaro is an endemic New Zealand shrub in the family Polygonaceae. It has distinctive small heart-shaped deciduous leaves amidst a tangle of wiry interlocking branches. Although common in cultivation around the world, it is extremely rare and threatened in the wild.

<i>Rubus armeniacus</i> Species of fruit and plant

Rubus armeniacus, the Himalayan blackberry or Armenian blackberry, is a species of Rubus in the blackberry group Rubus subgenus Rubus series Discolores Focke. It is native to Armenia and Northern Iran, and widely naturalised elsewhere. Both its scientific name and origin have been the subject of much confusion, with much of the literature referring to it as either Rubus procerus or Rubus discolor, and often mistakenly citing its origin as western European. Flora of North America, published in 2014, considers the taxonomy unsettled, and tentatively uses the older name Rubus bifrons.

<i>Rubus ursinus</i> Berry and plant

Rubus ursinus is a North American species of blackberry or dewberry, known by the common names California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry, Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry.

<i>Smilax australis</i> Species of vine

Smilax australis is a vine in the family Smilacaceae, endemic to Australia. It has prickly climbing stems that are up to 8 metres long with coiled tendrils that are up to 20 cm long. The glossy leaves have 5 prominent longitudinal veins and are 5 to 15 cm long and 3 to 10 cm wide.

<i>Rubus cissoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Rubus cissoides, commonly called bush lawyer or tātarāmoa in te reo Māori, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, endemic to New Zealand. Alan Cunningham described R. cissoides in 1839. Plants of this species of are perennial scrambling vines with compound leaves with 3-5 leaflets each up to 15 cm long, reddish prickles on the branches, white flowers from September to November and red berries from December to April. The conservation status of R. cissoides is Not Threatened, it is widespread on all three main islands of mainland New Zealand, and it has been used by Māori as food, medicines and construction materials.

<i>Rubus australis</i> Species of fruit and plant

Rubus australis, commonly called swamp lawyer, is a climbing plant species found in New Zealand. Its hooked branches allow it to climb across the ground and into shrubs and trees.

<i>Rubus schmidelioides</i> Species of fruit and plant

Rubus schmidelioides, commonly called bush lawyer, is a climbing plant species from New Zealand. Its hooked branches allow it to climb across the ground and into shrubs and trees. R.schmidelioides fruit are yellow to orange.

<i>Rubus flagellaris</i> Species of shrub

Rubus flagellaris, the northern dewberry, also known as the common dewberry, is a North American species perennial subshrub species of dewberry, in the rose family. This dewberry is distributed across much of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It grows in diverse habitats ranging from drier savannas to temperate deciduous forests.

<i>Rubus argutus</i> Species of fruit and plant

Rubus argutus is a North American species of prickly bramble in the rose family. It is a perennial plant native to the eastern and south-central United States. Common names are sawtooth blackberry or tall blackberry after its high growth.

<i>Rubus allegheniensis</i> Berry and plant

Rubus allegheniensis is a North American species of highbush blackberry in Section Alleghenienses of the genus Rubus, a member of the rose family. It is the most common and widespread highbush blackberry in eastern and central North America. It is commonly known as Allegheny blackberry.

<i>Rubus fruticosus</i> Index of articles associated with the same name

Rubus fruticosus L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus Rubus in the rose family. The name has been interpreted in several ways:

References

  1. "Rubus". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  2. "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Rubus". www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. Encyclopedia of New Zealand entry
  4. DuFresne, Jim (November 2006). Tramping in New Zealand (PDF) (6th ed.). Lonely Planet walking guide. p. 74. ISBN   1740597885.