Dewberry

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Ripe European dewberry Rubus caesius fruit - Keila.jpg
Ripe European dewberry
Rubus caesius Poldmuraka ois Rubus caesius.jpg
Rubus caesius
Wild dewberries, picked in North Texas Wild Dewberries EAR.jpg
Wild dewberries, picked in North Texas
A flower of a European dewberry (Rubus caesius) being pollinated by a red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius). A seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) is also present. Bombus lapidarius - Rubus caesius - Valingu.jpg
A flower of a European dewberry ( Rubus caesius ) being pollinated by a red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius). A seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) is also present.

The dewberries are a group of species in the genus Rubus , section Rubus, closely related to the blackberries. They are small trailing (rather than upright or high-arching) brambles with aggregate fruits, reminiscent of the raspberry, but are usually purple to black instead of red.

Contents

Description

The plants do not have upright canes like some other Rubus species, but have stems that trail along the ground, putting forth new roots along the length of the stem. The stems are covered with fine spines or stickers. Around March and April, the plants start to grow white flowers that develop into small green berries. The tiny green berries grow red and then a deep purple-blue as they ripen. When the berries are ripe, they are tender and difficult to pick in any quantity without squashing them. The berries are sweet and often less seedy than blackberries.[ citation needed ]

In the winter the leaves often remain on the stems, but may turn dark red.[ citation needed ]

The European dewberry, Rubus caesius , grows more upright like other brambles. Its fruits are a deep, almost black, purple and are coated with a thin layer or 'dew' of waxy droplets. Thus, they appear sky-blue (caesius being Latin for pale blue). Its fruits are small and retain a markedly tart taste even when fully ripe.[ citation needed ]

European dewberry growing on sand dunes at Newborough, Wales Rubus caesius.jpg
European dewberry growing on sand dunes at Newborough, Wales

Species

Distribution and habitat

Dewberries are common throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and are thought of as a beneficial weed. Rubus caesius is frequently restricted to coastal communities, especially sand dune systems.[ citation needed ]

Ecology

The leaves are sometimes eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including peach blossom moths.[ citation needed ]

Uses

The leaves can be used to make a herbal tea, and the berries are edible and taste sweet. They can be eaten raw, or used to make cobbler, jam, or pie.[ citation needed ]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town of Cameron, North Carolina, was known as the "dewberry capital of the world" for large scale cultivation of this berry which was shipped out for widespread consumption. Local growers made extensive use of the railroads in the area to ship them nationally and internationally.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Rubus</i> Genus of plants in the rose family

Rubus is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species, commonly known as brambles.

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

The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus Rubus in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus Rubus, and hybrids between the subgenera Rubus and Idaeobatus. The taxonomy of blackberries has historically been confused because of hybridization and apomixis, so that species have often been grouped together and called species aggregates. For example, the entire subgenus Rubus has been called the Rubus fruticosus aggregate, although the species R. fruticosus is considered a synonym of R. plicatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boysenberry</span> Hybrid species of berry

The boysenberry is a cross between the European raspberry, European blackberry, American dewberry, and loganberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raspberry</span> Edible fruit

The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with woody stems.

<i>Rubus spectabilis</i> Plant species

Rubus spectabilis, the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west-central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus Rubus, the salmonberry plant bears edible fruit, typically yellow-orange or red in color, resembling raspberries in appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loganberry</span> Species of fruit and plant

The loganberry is a hybrid of the North American blackberry and the European raspberry.

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

Rubus caesius is a Eurasian species of dewberry, known as the European dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, related to the blackberry and raspberry. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and Asia from Ireland and Portugal as far east as Xinjiang Province in western China. It has also become sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Argentina, Canada, and the United States.

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

Rubus occidentalis is a species of Rubus native to eastern North America. Its common name black raspberry is shared with other closely related species. Other names occasionally used include bear's eye blackberry, black cap, black cap raspberry, and scotch cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp dewberry</span> Berry and plant

Rubus hispidus, with the common names swamp dewberry, bristly dewberry, bristly groundberry, groundberry, hispid swamp blackberry or running swamp blackberry, is North American species of dewberry in the rose family.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayberry</span> Berry and plant

The tayberry is a cultivated shrub in the genus Rubus of the family Rosaceae patented in 1979 as a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, and named after the River Tay in Scotland.

<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>Rubus pubescens</i> Berry and plant

Rubus pubescens is a herbaceous perennial widespread across much of Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska to Newfoundland, south as far as Oregon, Colorado, and West Virginia.

<i>Coptotriche marginea</i> Species of moth

Coptotriche marginea is a moth of the family Tischeriidae, found in most of Europe. It was named by the English botanist, carcinologist and entomologist, Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1828, from a specimen found in England. The larvae mine the leaves of brambles (Rubus) species.

<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.

Rubus aboriginum is a North American species of dewberry, known as the garden dewberry and aboriginal dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, related to the blackberry. It is native to the United States and Mexico, primarily in the southern Great Plains.

Rubus fraternalis is an uncommon North American species of flowering plant in the rose family. It has been found in Québec and in the northeastern United States.

<i>Diastrophus rubi</i> Species of wasp

Diastrophus rubi is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae that live on the stems of bramble. The insect was first described by the German entomologist Peter Friedrich Bouché in 1834 and is found in Europe.

<i>Lasioptera rubi</i> Species of fly

Lasioptera rubi is a species of gall midge in the family Cecidomyiidae and is found in Europe. It was first described in 1803 by the German priest, botanist and entomologist, Franz von Paula Schrank. The larvae feed within the tissue of brambles, creating abnormal plant growths known as galls.

Dasineura plicatrix is a species of gall midge, an insect in the family Cecidomyiidae, found in Europe. It was described by the German entomologist Friedrich Hermann Loew in 1850. The larvae feed within the tissue of bramble leaves, creating an abnormal growth known as a plant gall.

References

  1. "Plants Profile for Rubus aboriginum (garden dewberry)". plants.usda.gov.