Rubus ulmifolius
Rubus niveus
elm-leaf blackberry
Hill raspberry, Mysore, snowpeaks, snowpeaks raspberry
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 to arching, often scrambling, sparsely hairy, glabrescent, eglandular, strongly pruinose;
prickles sparsely to moderately dense, hooked to reflexed, stout, 3–9 mm, broad-based.
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 linear-lanceolate, 4–8 mm;
leaflets (3–)5–7(–9), terminal ovate to broadly ovate, 4–6.7 × (2.4–)3.4–5.4 cm, base shallowly cordate, sometimes shallowly 3-lobed, margins coarsely serrate to doubly serrate, apex acute to short-acuminate, abaxial surfaces with scattered, reflexed, broad-based prickles on midveins, densely white-tomentose, eglandular.
terminal, 10–60-flowered, paniculiform or thyrsiform.
terminal and axillary, 1–11-flowered, cymiform.
unarmed or prickles moderate to dense, erect to hooked, densely short-hairy, eglandular.
prickles absent or sparse, erect to reflexed, pubescent, eglandular.
bisexual;
petals usually pink, sometimes white, obovate or elliptic to suborbiculate, 5–12 mm;
filaments filiform;
ovaries apically hairy.
bisexual;
petals pink to magenta, broadly obovate to orbiculate, 4 mm;
filaments laminar;
ovaries densely hairy.
black, globose to ovoid, 1–1.5 cm;
drupelets 10–40, strongly coherent, separating with torus attached.
purple-black, hemispheric to globose, 0.5–1.5 cm;
drupelets 50–75, coherent, separating from torus.
= 14.
= 14.
Rubus ulmifolius
Rubus niveus
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.)
Rubus niveus is distinguished from other raspberries by its pinnately compound leaves with 5–7 leaflets, ovate to broadly ovate terminal leaflet, leaflets with prickles on the midvein, and pink to magenta, broadly obovate to orbiculate petals. The species was introduced into southern Florida around 1949 from seeds obtained in Kenya and quickly became popular for its fruits, which are edible fresh or frozen and are often used in preserves, pies, and tarts (J. F. Morton 1987).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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