Rubus canadensis

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Rubus canadensis
Rubuscanadensis.jpg
Rubus canadensis 135-8264.jpg
1909 Fitch illustration [1]
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Rubus
Species:
R. canadensis
Binomial name
Rubus canadensis
L. 1753 not Torr. 1824
Synonyms
Synonymy
  • Rubus amnicolaBlanch.
  • Rubus argutus var. randii(L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus besseyiL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus canadensis var. imusL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus canadensis var. millspaughii(Britton) Blanch.
  • Rubus forestalisL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus illustrisL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus irregularisL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus laetabilisL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus millspaughiiBritton
  • Rubus orariu]Blanch.
  • Rubus pergratusBlanch.
  • Rubus pergratusEdees & A.Newton
  • Rubus pergratus var. terrae-novaeFernald
  • Rubus randii(L.H.Bailey) Rydb.
  • Rubus suberectusHook.
  • Rubus villosus var. randiiL.H.Bailey
  • Selnorition canadensis(L.) Raf. ex B.D.Jacks.
  • Rubus invisus(L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus jactusL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus macdanielsiiL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus masseyiL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus redundansL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus sanfordiiL.H.Bailey
  • Rubus terraltanusL.H.Bailey

Rubus canadensis is a North American species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names smooth blackberry, [2] Canadian blackberry, thornless blackberry and smooth highbush blackberry. [3] It is native to central and eastern Canada (from Newfoundland to Ontario) and the eastern United States (New England, the Great Lakes region, and the Appalachian Mountains). [4] [5] It has also been sparingly recorded in Great Britain, in which it is often confused for the many other native blackberry species. [6]

This rhizomatous shrub forms thickets up to 2 to 3 meters (7–10 feet) tall. The leaves are deciduous and alternately arranged, each measuring 10 to 20 centimeters (4-8 inches) long. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 25 flowers. The fruit is an aggregate of many small drupes, each of which contains a tiny nutlet. The plant reproduces by seed, by sprouting up from the rhizome, and by layering. The stems can grow one meter (40 inches) in height in under two months. [4] [3]

Rubus canadensis grows in many types of forested habitat, as well as on disturbed sites. Associated plants may include mountain maple ( Acer spicatum ), serviceberry ( Amelanchier spp.), hobblebush ( Viburnum alnifolium ), scarlet elder ( Sambucus pubens ), common blackberry ( Rubus allegheniensis ), beaked hazel ( Corylus cornuta ), southern mountain cranberry ( Vaccinium erythrocarpum ), minnie-bush (Menziesia pilosa), and rosebay ( Rhododendron catawbiense ). [4]

Many types of animals feed on the fruits and foliage of this shrub. The thickets provide cover and nesting sites. [4]

The fruits of this plant provided food for Native American groups, who also used parts of the plant medicinally at times. [7]

Related Research Articles

<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.

<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.

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

Rubus phoenicolasius is an Asian species of raspberry in the rose family, native to China, Japan, and Korea.

<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.

<i>Shepherdia canadensis</i> North American species of buffaloberry

Shepherdia canadensis, commonly called Canada buffaloberry, russet buffaloberry, soopolallie, soapberry, or foamberry is one of a small number of shrubs of the genus Shepherdia that bears edible berries.

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

Rubus laciniatus, the cutleaf evergreen blackberry or evergreen blackberry, is a species of Rubus, native to Eurasia. It is an introduced species in Australia and North America. It has become a weed and invasive species in forested habitats in the United States and Canada, particularly in the Northeast and along the Pacific Coast.

<i>Amelanchier canadensis</i> Species of tree

Amelanchier canadensis is a species of Amelanchier native to eastern North America in Canada from Newfoundland west to southern Ontario, and in the United States from Maine south to Alabama. It is largely restricted to wet sites, particularly on the Atlantic coastal plain, growing at altitudes from sea level up to 200 m.

<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 invasive 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>Vaccinium stamineum</i> Species of flowering plant

Vaccinium stamineum, commonly known as deerberry, tall deerberry, highbush huckleberry, buckberry, and southern gooseberry, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is native to North America, including Ontario, the eastern and central United States, and parts of Mexico. It is most common in the southeastern United States.

<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>Symphoricarpos albus</i> Species of flowering plant

Symphoricarpos albus is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common name common snowberry. Native to North America, it is browsed by some animals and planted for ornamental and ecological purposes, but is poisonous to humans.

<i>Geocaulon</i> Species of flowering plant in the mistletoe family Santalaceae

Geocaulon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Santalaceae containing the single species Geocaulon lividum, which is known by the common names northern comandra and false toadflax. It is native to northern North America, where it is common and widespread from Alaska to Newfoundland and into the northernmost contiguous United States.

<i>Gaylussacia frondosa</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia frondosa is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names dangleberry and blue huckleberry. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs from New Hampshire to South Carolina.

<i>Ribes americanum</i> North American species of currant

Ribes americanum is a North American species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family known as wild black currant, American black currant, and eastern black currant. It is widespread in much of Canada and the northern United States.

<i>Salix arbusculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Salix arbusculoides is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name little tree willow. It is native to northern North America, where its distribution extends across Alaska and most of Canada.

<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.

Rubus novanglicus is an uncommon North American species of flowering plant in the rose family. It grows in northeastern United States, having been found only in the State of Connecticut.

References

  1. illustration from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, London., vol. 135 [= ser. 4, vol. 5]: plate 8264, lithograph by J.N.Fitch
  2. NRCS. "Rubus canadensis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 Flora of North America, Rubus canadensis Linnaeus, 1753. Canadian or smooth highbush blackberry, ronce du Canada
  4. 1 2 3 4 Coladonato, Milo. 1994. Rubus canadensis. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  5. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  6. https://www.jnecology.uk/rubus/accounts/canadensis.htm
  7. Rubus canadensis. University of Michigan Ethnobotany.