Rubus odoratus
Rubus cuneifolius
flowering raspberry, purple flowering raspberry, ronce odorante
sand blackberry
erect, sparsely to moderately hairy, moderately to densely stipitate-glandular, glands dark purple, not pruinose.
biennial, erect, rarely arching, sparsely to densely hairy (especially young), eglandular, not pruinose;
bark not papery, peeling;
prickles usually dense, hooked to retrorse, usually stout, 3–6 mm, broad-based.
deciduous, simple;
stipules lanceolate to ovate, 5–15 mm;
blade subrotund to reniform, 9–20(–30) × (10–)15–25(–30) cm, base cordate, palmately, ± deeply, (3–)5-lobed, margins finely, irregularly serrate to doubly serrate, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surfaces sparsely to moderately hairy, sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, glands dark purple.
deciduous to semievergreen, usually ternate, sometimes palmately compound;
stipules filiform or linear to lanceolate, 3–15 mm;
leaflets 3–5, terminal cuneate to obovate, 2–6 × 3–4 cm, base cuneate, unlobed, margins serrate, rarely doubly serrate, apex broadly rounded to subtruncate, often cuspidate, abaxial surfaces often with prickles on midveins, densely gray- to white-hairy, sparsely to densely sessile-glandular.
terminal and axillary, 4–7(–22)-flowered, cymiform to thyrsiform.
terminal on short shoots, sometimes appearing axillary, (1–)3–5(–12)-flowered, cymiform.
pubescent, moderately to densely stipitate-glandular, glands dark purple.
unarmed or prickles sparse to moderate, hooked to retrorse, moderately to densely hairy, eglandular or sparsely to moderately sessile-glandular.
bisexual;
petals usually magenta, rarely white, broadly obovate to suborbiculate, (12–)17–25(–30) mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries distally densely hairy, styles clavate, glabrous.
bisexual;
petals white, elliptic to obovate, 5–15 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries glabrous or glabrate.
pale to dark red, hemispheric, 0.7–1.5 cm;
drupelets 30–60, coherent, separating from torus.
black, globose to cylindric, 0.6–2 cm;
drupelets 15–50, strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.
= 14.
= 21, 28.
Rubus odoratus
Rubus cuneifolius
Rubus odoratus is introduced in Washington State. The species is distinguished from other flowering raspberries by its erect, unarmed stems, simple leaves, large flowers, magenta petals, glabrous, clavate styles, and purple stipitate glands densely covering most plant parts. A hybrid with R. nutkanus (R. ×fraseri Rehder) is thought to occur in areas of overlap in northern Michigan (E. G. Voss 1972–1996, vol. 2).
The Cherokee used leaf infusions for labor pains and the Iroquois used plant infusions for miscarriage (P. Bergner 1997). Rubus odoratus is grown as an ornamental for its relatively large flowers and magenta petals and its edible fruits that are somewhat dry and insipid.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rubus cuneifolius is characteristic of the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. The species is distinguished from most other blackberries in the flora area by its usually strongly erect and shrub-forming habit and abaxial leaflet surfaces often with dense white to gray indument; it may be confused with R. pascuus. Rubus cuneifolius has white petals and cuneate to obovate leaflets with usually revolute margins, the proximal third entire; R. pascuus has pale pink to white petals and ovate to broadly elliptic leaflets with the margins flat and entire only at base.
Rubus longii Fernald may represent hybridization between R. cuneifolius and another, yet-undetermined, blackberry (perhaps R. pascuus). Hybrids of R. cuneifolius and R. hispidus can be found around abandoned commercial cranberry bogs in New Jersey (G. Moore, pers. obs.). Rubus cuneifolius is introduced in South Africa and is officially recognized there as a noxious weed (L. Henderson 1995; T. Olkers and M. P. Hill 1999; H. Klein 2002). Preliminary examination of plants identified as R. cuneifolius from South Africa has shown that the plants are not R. cuneifolius but may be hybrids involving R. cuneifolius and another species.
The following nothospecies names are based on putative hybrids involving Rubus cuneifolius and: R. pensilvanicus (R. ×acer L. H. Bailey, R. ×acer var. subacer L. H. Bailey, R. ×argutinus L. H. Bailey, R. ×floridensis L. H. Bailey); R. trivialis (R. ×inferior L. H. Bailey).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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