Flora of North America species comparison

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Rubus nivalis

dwarf snow bramble, snow bramble, snow dewberry, snow dwarf bramble, snow raspberry
Habit Shrubs, to 1.5 dm, armed.
Stems

perennial, creeping, sparsely hairy, glabrescent, eglandular, not pruinose;

prickles sparse, strongly retrorse, stout, to 1 mm, broad-based.
Leaves

evergreen, simple or ternate;

stipules adnate to petioles, broadly elliptic to ovate, (6–)8–10 mm;

blade ovate to cordate, (2.5–)3–5(–8) cm, lobe or leaflet base cordate, shallowly 3-lobed, margins coarsely, singly or doubly dentate, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surfaces with prickles along midveins, glabrous or sparsely hairy, eglandular, both surfaces lustrous fresh.
Inflorescences

1–2-flowered.
Pedicels

prickles scattered, retrorse, moderately to densely hairy, eglandular.
Flowers

bisexual;

petals magenta to pink, elliptic to oblanceolate or spatulate, (5–)8–10 mm;

filaments filiform;

ovaries moderately hairy, styles glabrous.
Fruits

red, hemispheric, 0.4–1 cm;

drupelets 3–10, not coherent, separating from torus.
2n

= 14.

Rubus nivalis
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Moist, semishaded forests, glades, moist soil, logged areas
Elevation 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Rubus nivalis is recognized by its creeping, prickly stems, simple to ternate, evergreen leaves, broadly elliptic to ovate stipules, two leaflets, relatively small flowers, and magenta to pink petals. Its closest relative is likely the Mexican R. pumilus Focke. Asian species previously classified in subg. Chamaebatus (Focke) Focke are hexaploid (M. M. Thompson 1997) and not phylogenetically close; R. nivalis appears to be sister to all blackberries of subg. Rubus (L. A. Alice and C. S. Campbell 1999; Alice et al. 2008).

The fruits of Rubus nivalis are eaten fresh, stewed, and canned by the Hoh and Quileute Indians (A. B. Reagan 1936).

The only known specimen of Rubus nivalis from California was collected in 1961 from Del Norte County at 1250 m near the Oregon border.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 45.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Rubeae > Rubus
Sibling taxa
R. allegheniensis, R. arcticus, R. bartonianus, R. bifrons, R. caesius, R. canadensis, R. chamaemorus, R. cuneifolius, R. deliciosus, R. flagellaris, R. glaucifolius, R. hispidus, R. idaeus, R. illecebrosus, R. laciniatus, R. lasiococcus, R. leucodermis, R. neomexicanus, R. niveus, R. nutkanus, R. occidentalis, R. odoratus, R. parviflorus, R. parvifolius, R. pascuus, R. pedatus, R. pensilvanicus, R. phoenicolasius, R. pubescens, R. repens, R. saxatilis, R. setosus, R. spectabilis, R. trivialis, R. ulmifolius, R. ursinus, R. vestitus
Name authority Douglas: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 181. (1832)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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