Rubus laciniatus
Rubus pascuus
cut-leaf blackberry, cutleaf evergreen blackberry, evergreen blackberry
Chesapeake blackberry, Nanticoke blackberry, topsy
biennial, arching, sometimes creeping, glabrate to moderately hairy, sparsely to densely sessile- to short-stipitate-glandular, not or weakly pruinose;
prickles moderately dense to dense, suberect to retrorse or hooked, stout, 2–8 mm, broad-based.
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.
evergreen to late-deciduous, ternate or palmately compound;
stipules filiform, 5–15 mm;
leaflets 3–5, terminal ovate to elliptic, 6–12 × 7–12 cm, base rounded to cordate, usually deeply, rarely shallowly, lobed, margins coarsely serrate to doubly serrate, apex acuminate to short-attenuate, abaxial surfaces with hooked prickles primarily on midvein, moderately to densely hairy, eglandular or moderately sessile- to short-stipitate-glandular primarily on midvein.
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.
terminal, 5–25-flowered, thyrsiform.
terminal and axillary, 3–15(–25)-flowered, cymiform to thyrsiform, not projected well beyond subtending leaves.
prickles moderate to dense, erect to reflexed, densely hairy, moderately to densely sessile- to short-stipitate-glandular.
prickles moderate to dense, hooked, retrorse, or erect, densely hairy, eglandular or sparsely to moderately sessile-glandular.
bisexual;
petals white to pink, elliptic to obovate, 8–15 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries usually apically hairy.
bisexual;
petals white to pale pink, obovate or elliptic to orbiculate, (8–)10–15 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries glabrous or apically hairy.
black, globose to subcylindric, 1–1.5 cm;
drupelets 25–60, strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.
black, globose to subcylindric, 1–2 cm;
drupelets (15–)20–40(–50), strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.
= 28.
= 21, 28.
Rubus laciniatus
Rubus pascuus
Rubus laciniatus is the only blackberry in the flora area that has leaflets so deeply lobed and dissected or has 3-lobed petals. Rare individuals bearing relatively unlobed leaflets and perianth parts may be part of the natural variation of this species or be hybrids with some other species. Putative natural hybrids have been reported with R. bifrons (as R. procerus; R. K. Bammi and H. P. Olmo 1966). Such unusual plants of R. laciniatus would be distinguished from the native blackberries by their thyrsiform and notably stipitate-glandular inflorescences and evergreen to late-deciduous leaves.
Although widely introduced in the flora area, Rubus laciniatus is a less aggressive weed than R. bifrons.
(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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