Rubus nivalis
Rubus caesius
dwarf snow bramble, snow bramble, snow dewberry, snow dwarf bramble, snow raspberry
European dewberry
perennial, creeping, sparsely hairy, glabrescent, eglandular, not pruinose;
prickles sparse, strongly retrorse, stout, to 1 mm, broad-based.
biennial, creeping or arching then creeping, glabrous or hairy, eglandular or sparsely sessile- to short-stipitate-glandular, strongly pruinose;
prickles sparse to dense, erect to retrorse, slender, 1–3 mm, narrow- or broad-based.
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.
deciduous, ternate;
stipules linear-lanceolate to ovate, 5–15 mm;
terminal leaflets ovate, 4–14 × 3–10 cm, base rounded to shallowly cordate, unlobed or shallowly lobed, margins coarsely serrate to doubly serrate, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surfaces with prickles on midveins or unarmed, sparsely to moderately hairy, eglandular or sparsely short-stipitate-glandular along larger veins.
1–2-flowered.
terminal on short shoot, usually appearing axillary, 1–6-flowered, solitary flowers, cymiform, or racemiform.
prickles scattered, retrorse, moderately to densely hairy, eglandular.
unarmed or prickles sparse to dense, erect to retrorse, densely hairy, sparsely to densely sessile- to short- or long-stipitate-glandular.
bisexual;
petals magenta to pink, elliptic to oblanceolate or spatulate, (5–)8–10 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries moderately hairy, styles glabrous.
bisexual;
petals white, obovate to elliptic or suborbiculate, 7–13 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries glabrous.
red, hemispheric, 0.4–1 cm;
drupelets 3–10, not coherent, separating from torus.
appearing bluish, black beneath bloom, pruinose, globose, 0.5–1.5 cm;
drupelets 1–5(–20), weakly coherent, separating with torus attached.
= 14.
= 28.
Rubus nivalis
Rubus caesius
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.)
Within the flora area, Rubus caesius usually produces fruit with few, relatively large drupelets; in Eurasia, fruit with more drupelets are typical, and weakly pruinose fruit have been observed.
Rubus caesius is vegetatively similar to R. flagellaris and is introduced into parts of the geographic range of the latter; see M. P. Widrlechner (1998) for a comparison of these two species. Rubus caesius shows striking vegetative similarity to pruinose, trifoliate-leaved plants of R. ursinus, with which it may have a close relationship (L. A. Alice, unpubl.). In the absence of flowers or fruit, these two species could be mistaken for one another. Rubus caesius generally has broader middle primocane leaflets than R. ursinus, but that is not a consistent difference. Rubus caesius may have been introduced into the geographic range of R. ursinus; most herbarium specimens surveyed have been inadequate to make a proper determination. On specimen labels, herbarium collectors should describe at least the color of the fruit. In the last decade, R. caesius apparently has become much more aggressive around Ithaca, New York, despite occurring there since the early twentieth century (F. R. Wesley, pers. comm.).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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