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elm-leaf blackberry

American red raspberry, common red raspberry, framboisier, nagoonberry, North American red raspberry, red raspberry, western red raspberry

Habit Shrubs, 30–50 dm, unarmed or armed. Shrubs, 5–25 dm, 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.

biennial, erect, glabrescent, eglandular or stipitate-glandular, strongly pruinose;

prickles absent or sparse to dense, erect, weak, 1–4 mm, broad-based;

bristles present or absent.

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.

deciduous, pinnately compound;

stipules filiform, 5–10 mm;

petiole unarmed or with prickles, strigose or glabrous, glandular or eglandular;

terminal leaflets petiolulate, lateral sessile or subsessile;

leaflets 3–5(–7), terminal ovate to lanceolate, 7–15 × 4–11 cm, base rounded to cordate, unlobed or 2-lobed, margins serrate to doubly serrate, apex acute to attenuate, abaxial surfaces unarmed or with prickles, strongly white-tomentose, eglandular or glandular.

Inflorescences

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

terminal and axillary, (1–)3–7(–20)-flowered, racemiform.

Pedicels

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

unarmed or prickles sparse, hooked, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, stipitate-glandular or eglandular.

Flowers

bisexual;

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

filaments filiform;

ovaries apically hairy.

bisexual;

petals white to greenish white, spatulate to obovate, 5–10 mm;

filaments filiform or slightly dilated basally;

ovaries pubescent.

Fruits

black, globose to ovoid, 1–1.5 cm;

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

usually red to whitish, rarely amber, globose to conic, 0.5–2 cm;

drupelets 10–60, coherent, separating from torus.

2n

= 14.

Rubus ulmifolius

Rubus idaeus

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]
from FNA
AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; Eurasia; Africa
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Rubus idaeus is the source of most of the cultivated red and amber raspberries. Plants were used by the Cherokee, Cree, and others as a parturient; an infusion of dried leaves in water was used to prepare the uterus for childbirth and help women recover after childbirth (D. E. Moerman 1998; D. Hoffman 2003).

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

Key
1. Stems eglandular 13a
subsp. idaeus
1. Stems stipitate-glandular.
subsp. strigosus
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 54. FNA vol. 9, p. 42.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Rubeae > Rubus 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. 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
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. 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. ulmifolius, R. ursinus, R. vestitus
Subordinate taxa
R. idaeus subsp. idaeus, R. idaeus subsp. strigosus
Synonyms R. discolor, R. ulmifolius var. anoplothyrsus
Name authority Schott: Isis (Oken) 1818: 821. (1818) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 492. (1753)
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