Rubus pubescens

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Rubus pubescens
Rubus pubescens 3 (5097948924).jpg
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. pubescens
Binomial name
Rubus pubescens
Raf. 1811 not Vest ex Tratt. 1823 nor Weihe 1824 (syn of R. chloocladus) nor Bayer 1859 nor Kuntze 1891 nor Hayek 1901 nor Genev. 1880 [1]
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Rubus saxatilis var. canadensisMichx. 1803
  • Cylactis montanaRaf.
  • Cylactis pubescens(Raf.) W.A.Weber
  • Cylastis montanus(Raf.) Raf.
  • Rubus canadensisTorr. 1824 not L. 1753
  • Rubus triflorusRichardson

Rubus pubescens (dwarf red blackberry, dwarf red raspberry, dewberry) 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. [4] [5]

Contents

Description

Dewberry is known as a subshrub or herbaceous perennial (Kartesz 2011). The trailing stems (stolons) are 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) in length, and the upright petioles are usually less than 20 cm (8 inches) tall. They differ from larger shrubby species in the genus in that the only upright part is herbaceous and only lightly speckled with fine hairs (hence the specific epithet pubescens), as opposed to the woody stems and larger prickles that cover many other species of Rubus [6] [7]

Leaves are compound with three more or less sessile (stalk-less), diamond-shaped leaflets. The middle leaflet is the largest, and most symmetrical, while the two side leaflets are wider below the midrib; all leaflets have toothed margins. [6] With the exception of the trailing stems, all parts of the plant are shed in the fall. [7]

Flowers have five white petals, often curled backwards, and the yellowish anthers give the center an appearance of yellow and black speckles. Flowering typically occurs between late May and late June, depending on the locality, but occasional flowers can be seen from early May through August. Flowers usually produce a single shiny red fruit, in the form of a cluster of drupelets (several tiny berries attached to a central receptacle), in early July. Like a blackberry, the fruit does not easily separate from its receptacle. [7]

Habitat

Dewberry is found in moist conifer or mixed-wood forests, with canopies dominated by spruce and fir with lesser components of aspen, maple, birch, or pine. It roots primarily in the organic layers of the soil. It is often found growing with bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), wild lily of the valley (Maianthemum canadense), and goldthread (Coptis trifolia).

Distribution

Dewberry is most common in boreal and temperate forested areas of Canada and the United States of America, but ranges from montane to coastal elevations, and from the arctic to the great plains, giving it a wide distribution in both north-south and east-west directions. [7]

Ecological Importance

Dewberry is eaten by a variety of mammals and birds, including black and grizzly bears, many small rodents, and game birds such as grouse.

Although the shallow-rooting tendency of dewberry makes it susceptible to damage by fire, it spreads quickly over a site by rhizomes, and can become an important component of ground cover after low and moderate-intensity disturbance, [8] thereby reducing soil water loss from evaporation.

Like other members of the genus, dewberry is an insect-pollinated plant. Without insect pollination, the number of fruits produced and the number of drupelets per fruit can decrease by 85-95%. [9] Because of its early flowering time, dewberry may be an important food source for insect pollinators in late spring, before the more nutritious and abundant flowering plants (e.g., red raspberry or blueberry crops) become available.

Human importance

Although dewberries are often too scattered and small to be an important traditional food for aboriginal groups in North America, those groups living in southern and eastern parts of the continent used the roots medicinally, to relieve various stomach ailments or to treat women with pregnancy or menstruation-related problems. [6]

The fruits are sweet and juicy right off the plant, but can also be used in jams, jellies, and most recipes involving red raspberries. If separating the berry from the receptacle frustrates your efforts to obtain a tasty treat, just eat the berry and receptacle together - both are quite edible.

Conservation

Dewberry is listed as threatened in the state of Illinois, where it is more commonly known as dwarf raspberry. [10] This status is probably due to a combination of human habitat destruction and a natural rarity at the southern limit of this species' range.

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">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 idaeus</i> Red raspberry

Rubus idaeus is a red-fruited species of Rubus native to Europe and northern Asia and commonly cultivated in other temperate regions.

<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 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.

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

Rubus parviflorus, commonly called thimbleberry, is a species of Rubus native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in appearance to a raspberry, but shorter, almost hemispherical. It has not been commercially developed for the retail berry market, but is cultivated for landscapes.

<i>Rubus strigosus</i> Species of vine

Rubus strigosus, the American red raspberry or American raspberry, is a species of Rubus native to much of North America. It was often treated as a variety or subspecies of the closely related Eurasian Rubus idaeus, but is now more commonly treated as a distinct species. Many of the commercial raspberry cultivars grown for their fruit derive from hybrids between R. strigosus and R. idaeus; see Raspberry for more details.

<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>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>Rubus repens</i> Genus of flowering plants

Rubus repens(dewdrop, false violet, star violet, Robin runaway. French Canadian: dalibarde rampante) is a perennial plant in the rose family, native to eastern and central Canada and to the northeastern and north-central United States. It is part of the genus Rubus, which includes brambles, blackberries, and raspberries. Some authorities consider it the sole member of a separate genus, Dalibarda. It is fairly easily grown in shady locations in damp to wet, acidic soils, and is frequently used in wildflower and bog gardens as a ground-cover.

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

Rubus nivalis, commonly known as snow raspberry, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family. It is native to northwestern North America: British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and far northern California.

<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 pedatus</i> Berry and plant

Rubus pedatus is an Asian and North American species of raspberry known under the common names five-leaved bramble, strawberryleaf raspberry and creeping raspberry.

<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 tricolor</i> Species of evergreen prostrate shrub native to southwestern China

Rubus tricolor is an evergreen prostrate shrub, native to southwestern China. Leaves are dark green above, pale green below, and stems have red bristles. It has white flowers in summer and edible red fruit. It grows approximately 0.3 m (0.98 ft) high and usually forming a vigorously spreading, dense mat. In cultivation, it is mainly used as groundcover. Common names include Chinese bramble, groundcover bramble, creeping bramble, Korean raspberry, Himalayan bramble, and groundcover raspberry. In Chinese, it is called 三色莓.

References

  1. The Plant List search for Rubus pubescens
  2. "Rubus pubescens". Richard Pankhurst et al. Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh via The Plant List.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. "Rubus pubescens". Tropicos . Missouri Botanical Garden.
  4. "Rubus pubescens". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  5. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rubus pubescens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Johnson, D.; Kershaw, L.; Mackinnon, A. (1999). Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland: Including Alberta, Saskatchewan And Manitoba. Edmonton, Alberta: Lone Pine Publishing.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Alice, Lawrence A.; Goldman, Douglas H.; Macklin, James A.; Moore, Gerry (2014). "Rubus pubescens". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 9. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  8. Wang, G.G.; Kemball, K.J. (2005). "Effects of fire severity on early development of understory vegetation". Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 35 (2): 254–262. doi:10.1139/x04-177.
  9. Whitney, G.G. (1984). "The reproductive biology of raspberries and plant-pollinator community structure". American Journal of Botany. 71 (7): 887–894. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1984.tb14155.x.
  10. "Checklist of endangered and threatened animals and plants of Illinois" (PDF). Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, Illinois Department of Natural Resources. 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2019.