Rubus chamaemorus
Rubus pascuus
baked-apple-berry, chicouté, cloudberry, plaquebière
Chesapeake blackberry, Nanticoke blackberry, topsy
from rhizomes, erect, rarely woody basally, sparsely hairy, sparsely stipitate-glandular distally, not pruinose.
biennial, arching, sparsely to densely hairy, sparsely to densely sessile-glandular, rarely short-stipitate-glandular, not pruinose;
bark not papery, peeling;
prickles moderate to dense, hooked, retrorse, or erect, stout, 4–10 mm, broad- or narrow-based.
deciduous, simple;
stipules broadly ovate to oblong, 3–6 mm;
blade reniform or orbiculate, 2.5–6 × (3–)5–8(–12) cm, base cordate, 3–7-lobed, lobe apices rounded, margins finely doubly serrate or dentate, abaxial surfaces sparsely hairy, sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular along veins.
deciduous to semievergreen, palmately compound, rarely ternate;
stipules filiform to linear, rarely narrowly lanceolate, 5–16(–20) mm;
leaflets 3–5, terminal broadly elliptic or ovate, (3.5–)4.5–8.5 × 2.5–6 cm, base rounded, unlobed, margins moderately to coarsely doubly, rarely singly, serrate, apex acute or short-acuminate, abaxial surfaces with hooked prickles on larger veins, short-velutinous to tomentose, sparsely to densely sessile-glandular, rarely short-stipitate-glandular.
1-flowered.
terminal and axillary, 3–15(–25)-flowered, cymiform to thyrsiform, not projected well beyond subtending leaves.
pubescent, sparsely to densely short- to long-stipitate-glandular.
prickles moderate to dense, hooked, retrorse, or erect, densely hairy, eglandular or sparsely to moderately sessile-glandular.
unisexual;
petals white, obovate, (8–)10–15(–18) mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries glabrous, styles filiform, glabrous.
bisexual;
petals white to pale pink, obovate or elliptic to orbiculate, (8–)10–15 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries glabrous or apically hairy.
golden yellow to orange or reddish, globose, 1.2–1.5 cm;
drupelets (5–)10–20, moderately coherent, separating from torus.
black, globose to subcylindric, 1–2 cm;
drupelets (15–)20–40(–50), strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.
= 56.
= 21, 28.
Rubus chamaemorus
Rubus pascuus
Rubus chamaemorus is circumboreal; it is presumed to be extirpated from New York, where it was known only from a single population on Long Island, far removed from the next southernmost localities in northern New Hampshire.
Rubus chamaemorus is defined by its unarmed stems, simple, coriaceous, and plicate leaves, unisexual flowers, and golden yellow to reddish fruits. Rubus chamaemorus is likely an ancient allopolyploid (K. V. Ambrose 2006).
The edible fruits of Rubus chamaemorus are highly valued in northern regions for consumption fresh and in yogurt, jams, syrups, and juices. An alcoholic beverage is made from the fruits and sold commercially in Newfoundland, Quebec, and Finland.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rubus pascuus is probably more widespread than indicated here. The species is most likely to be mistaken for R. bifrons, R. cuneifolius, or R. pensilvanicus. Unlike R. bifrons, R. pascuus is generally more densely glandular, has much shorter, compact inflorescences that usually barely surpass the leaves, and tends to hold its primocane leaves relatively erect (versus spreading in R. bifrons). Although both can be semievergreen, R. pascuus will lose its leaves more readily than R. bifrons in areas where they co-occur. When compared with R. cuneifolius, R. pascuus has pale pink to white petals and ovate to broadly elliptic leaflets with flat margins, the entire part restricted to the base; R. cuneifolius has white petals and cuneate to obovate leaflets with usually revolute margins, the proximal third entire. When compared with R. pensilvanicus, R. pascuus has pale pink to white petals. Rubus pensilvanicus only has white petals as well as abaxial leaf surfaces, which are white to gray-green in R. pascuus with dense, short-velutinous to tomentose indument, while those of R. pensilvanicus can be hairy but never whitish to gray-green. A notable aspect of R. pascuus is how vigorously armed it is, more so than most other Rubus species in the flora area.
Rubus pascuus may represent a stabilized hybrid between a European and a native blackberry species, suggested by whitish pubescence on the abaxial leaf surface and pale pink petals. L. H. Bailey placed R. pascuus in his sect. Cuneifolii (L. H. Bailey) L. H. Bailey, likely because of the whitish hairs on the abaxial leaf surface.
The use of the name Rubus pascuus here is tentative; it is the best fit to the material observed. This treatment follows H. A. Davis (1990) for the choice of the name to use and its associated synonymy.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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