Rubus rosifolius

Rubus rosifolius
Wild form
Double-flowered form
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rubus
Subgenus:	Rubus subg. Idaeobatus
Species:	R. rosifolius
Binomial name
Rubus rosifolius Sm.
Varieties [1]
R. r. var. inermis R. r. var. rosifolius
Synonyms
List Rubus apoensis Rubus chinensis Rubus comintanus Rubus commersonii Rubus coronarius Rubus dosedlae Rubus eglanteria Rubus glandulosopunctatus Rubus hopingensis Rubus jamaicensis Rubus javanicus Rubus mingendensis Rubus paniculatus Rubus parvirosifolius Rubus polyphyllarius Rubus rosaefolius Rubus sikkimensis Rubus sinensis Rubus tagallus Rubus taiwanianus Rubus trifoliolatus

Rubus rosifolius, (sometimes spelled Rubus rosaefolius), also known as roseleaf bramble, Mauritius raspberry, thimbleberry,Vanuatu raspberry and bramble of the Cape ^[2] is a species of prickly subshrub. Its double-flowered variety is named Rubus rosifolius var. coronarius (synonym: Rubus coronarius). ^[3]

Description

Roseleaf bramble is a shrub with straight or arching stems that can reach as much as 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in height. The stems are covered in long, spreading white hairs with scattered amber-green glands that can be dense in small areas. ^[4] Their leaves are compound with toothed margins, with glandular-hairs on both sides of leaflets. The flowers are white in panicles or solitary. ^[5] The fruit are 2 cm long.

Taxonomy

Rubus rosifolius was given its scientific name by the botanist James Edward Smith in 1791. ^[1] The unplaced name Rubus rosifolius published by Jonathan S. Stokes in 1812 is sometimes a source of confusion. ^[6] According to Plants of the World Online it has no accepted subspecies, but has two accepted varieties. ^[1] The autonymic variety has 40 heterotypic synonyms while Rubus rosifolius var. inermis has none. ^{[7] [8]}

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Rubus apoensisElmer	1913	species
Rubus chinensisSer.	1825	species	not validly publ.
Rubus comintanusBlanco	1845	species
Rubus commersoniiPoir.	1804	species
Rubus coronarius(Sims) Sweet	1826	species
Rubus dosedlaeGilli	1979	species
Rubus eglanteriaTratt.	1823	species
Rubus glandulosopunctatusHayata	1914	species
Rubus hirsutus var. glabellus(Focke) Wuzhi	1979	variety
Rubus hopingensisY.C.Liu & F.Y.Lu	1976	species
Rubus jamaicensisBlanco	1837	species	nom. illeg.
Rubus javanicusBlume	1826	species
Rubus mingendensisGilli	1979	species
Rubus paniculatusC.B.Clarke	1876	species	nom. illeg.
Rubus parvirosifoliusHayata	1915	species
Rubus polyphyllarius(Cardot) Koidz.	1930	species
Rubus rosaefoliusSm.	1791	species
Rubus rosifolius var. commersonii(Poir.) Tirveng.	1981	variety
Rubus rosifolius f. coronarius(Sims) Focke	1911	form
Rubus rosifolius var. coronariusSims	1815	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. hirsutusHayata	1908	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. intermediusKuntze	1891	variety
Rubus rosifolius f. monophyllusBacker	1964	form
Rubus rosifolius normalisKuntze	1891
Rubus rosifolius f. paucijugusHallier	1912	form
Rubus rosifolius lusus personatusFocke	1914	sport
Rubus rosifolius pleniflorusMakino	1901
Rubus rosifolius var. pluriflorusKuntze	1891	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. polyphyllariusCardot	1917	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. rubrocarpusKanjilal, P.C.Kanjilal & Das	1938	variety	without a Latin descr.
Rubus rosifolius var. sikkimensisKuntze	1891	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. trilobusSer.	1825	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. tropicusMaxim.	1872	variety
Rubus rosifolius var. wuyishanensisZ.X.Yu	1986	variety
Rubus sikkimensisKuntze ex Hook.f.	1878	species
Rubus sinensisSims	1816	species
Rubus tagallusCham. & Schltdl.	1827	species
Rubus taiwanianusMatsum.	1902	species
Rubus thunbergii var. glabellusFocke	1911	variety
Rubus trifoliolatusSuess.	1950	species

Distribution and habitat

Vanuatu raspberries (frombwas) for sale at Port Vila Market, Vanuatu

Rubus rosifolius is native to India, Southeast Asia, and some islands of the western Pacific. It is also widely introduced to areas of Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, and to other Pacific islands. ^[1]

Its native range extends as far west as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India where it is found mainly in the northeast in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and West Bengal, but also is native to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the northwest and Tamil Nadu in the south. To the east it is native to all the states of Mainland Southeast Asia except for Singapore. In China it is mainly found in the southeast being native to Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, but in the south it is found as far west as Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan and as far north as Shaanxi. It is also native to the island of Taiwan. It is native to many of the Islands of Indonesia including Borneo, and Sulawesi as well as both halves of New Guinea ^[9]

Rubus rosifolius has become naturalized in eastern Australia and in New Zealand. It has escaped from cultivation or been introduced to many islands including Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti, Moʻorea, Raʻiātea, Rapa Iti, Ascension Island, and St. Helena. ^[9] It is also found abundantly in the Brazilian states Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and to the south as far as Rio Grande do Sul. ^[10]

The species is grows naturally in rainforests and tall open forests. ^[10]

Weed risk

Rubus rosifolius is an introduced environmental weed in the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico and French Polynesia; extreme caution should be adopted when considering introducing this plant into regions where it is not already native. ^{[11] [12]}

Uses

Although rarely cultivated, the plant has several uses. The fruit is sweet and pleasant flavoured when grown with good soil moisture. The fruit is also sold at markets in the Himalayas. ^[13]

The leaf is used as a medicinal herbal tea for treating diarrhoea, menstrual pains, morning sickness and labour pains. ^[14] The leaf contains essential oils. ^[15]

References

1. "Rubus rosifolius Sm". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 22 July 2025.
2. USDA GRIN Taxonomy , retrieved 10 August 2016
3. Sims, John (1815). "Rubus rosaefolius var. coronarius". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 43: t.1783.
4. Graham, R. A. (1960). "RUBUS rosifolius Sm. [family ROSACEAE]". JSTOR. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
5. PlantNET, Rubus rosifolius plant profile
6. "Rubus rosifolius Stokes". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
7. "Rubus rosifolius var. rosifolius". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
8. "Rubus rosifolius var. inermis Z.X.Yu". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
9. Hassler, Michael (5 July 2025). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.07". World Plants. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
10. Frutas Brasileiras e Exóticas Cultivadas, Harri Lorenzi et al., Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora, 2006
11. Randall, Rod. "Rubus rosifolius information from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW)". www.hear.org.
12. Rubus rosifolius plant profile, Plants Database, United States Department of Agriculture
13. Gamble, J. S., A Manual of Indian Timbers, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1972
14. Low, T., Bush Medicine – A Pharmacopoeia of Natural Remedies, 1990, ISBN   0-207-16462-2
15. Southwell, I., 'The Constituents of Rubus rosifolius. The Structure of Rosifoliol, a Biogenetically Significant Sesquiterpenoid', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 1978, vol. 31(11), pp2527 – 2538

External links

• Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Cambodia in 2012
• "Rubus rosifolius". Plants for a Future .