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elm-leaf blackberry

Habit Shrubs, 30–50 dm, unarmed or armed. Shrubs, subshrubs, or herbs, perennial; armed or unarmed.
Stems

biennial, erect, then arching, usually moderately, rarely sparsely, hairy hairs stellate, eglandular, strongly pruinose;

prickles absent or sparse to dense, erect to hooked, stout, 3–10 mm, broad-based.

Leaves

persistent or nearly so, ternate to palmately compound;

stipules filiform to linear, 4–12 mm;

leaflets 3–5, terminal ovate, elliptic, or suborbiculate to obovate, 4–10 × 2–6(–9) cm, base rounded to cuneate, unlobed, margins finely to moderately serrate, apex acute or acuminate to attenuate, abaxial surfaces with hooked prickles on larger veins, densely white short-velutinous, hairs usually minute, eglandular.

alternate, imparipinnately or palmately compound or simple;

stipules persistent [deciduous], free or adnate to petiole;

venation pinnate or palmate.

Inflorescences

terminal, 10–60-flowered, paniculiform or thyrsiform.

Pedicels

unarmed or prickles moderate to dense, erect to hooked, densely short-hairy, eglandular.

Flowers

bisexual;

petals usually pink, sometimes white, obovate or elliptic to suborbiculate, 5–12 mm;

filaments filiform;

ovaries apically hairy.

perianth and androecium perigynous;

epicalyx bractlets absent;

hypanthium flat to hemispheric;

torus flat or convex to conic;

carpels 5–150, styles apical, distinct;

ovules 2, apical, collateral, only 1 maturing.

Fruits

black, globose to ovoid, 1–1.5 cm;

drupelets 10–40, strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.

aggregated drupelets;

styles persistent, not elongate.

2n

= 14.

Rubus ulmifolius

Rosaceae tribe rubeae

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Woodland edges, open areas, disturbed areas, moist soil
Elevation 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NJ; NV; OR; WA; s Europe; c Europe; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Eurasia; Africa; Pacific Islands; Australia [Introduced nearly worldwide]
Discussion

Rubus ulmifolius can be distinguished, especially from the closely related R. bifrons and R. vestitus, by its strongly pruinose stems, finely serrate leaflets, and lack of glands throughout. Unlike R. ulmifolius, strongly pruinose native Rubus species lack relatively large and showy pink petals. Some new stems developing from tip-rooting, and early leaves on such stems (especially in shade), are not whitened abaxially and are tomentose. Such unusual stems develop typical leaves and surfaces in parts formed later.

There has been nomenclatural confusion over unarmed plants of Rubus ulmifolius (see E. Monasterio-Huelin and H. E. Weber 1996). Rubus inermis Willdenow is an illegitimate later homonym of R. inermis Pourret, and the type specimens for both names are of poor-quality. If an unarmed variety of R. ulmifolius is to be recognized, such as occurs in California, the name var. anoplothyrsus Sudre should be used instead of var. inermis (Willdenow) Focke.

Rubus ulmifolius is attractive and is potentially weedy but relatively uncommon, found primarily in coastal California from the San Francisco Bay region southward. It probably no longer persists in New Jersey, last collected there in 1897, and it is rare in Nevada and Oregon. Rubus ulmifolius likely hybridizes with R. bifrons where they co-occur; it is one of relatively few diploid and sexually reproducing species of European blackberries.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genus 1, species 250–700 (37 in the flora).

The base chromosome number for Rubeae is x = 7. The tribe is host to Phragmidium rusts.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 54. FNA vol. 9, p. 27. Author: Luc Brouillet.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Rubeae > Rubus Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae
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. nivalis, 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. ursinus, R. vestitus
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms R. discolor, R. ulmifolius var. anoplothyrsus
Name authority Schott: Isis (Oken) 1818: 821. (1818) Dumortier: Anal. Fam. Pl., 39. (1829)
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