Rubus archboldianus — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit are eaten.

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

DEADLY

Red Baneberry

Actaea rubra

SAFE

Rubus archboldianus

Red Baneberry: Short herbaceous plant (no thorns), berries on thick red stems, each berry has a single seed, compound sharply-toothed leaves.

Rubus archboldianus: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. In mountain forests from 1,800 to 3,600 m altitude.

Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG,

Countries: Australia, Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa

How to Identify

A climbing or scrambling shrub. The stems are up to 5 m long. The prickles are 2 mm long and curved. Often they are purplish. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaf stalks are 1-4 cm long. The leaflets are oval and the side ones are 5.5 cm long by 4 cm wide. The edges of the leaves have saw like teeth. The leaves are leathery. The flowerings stalks have 1 or 2 flower stalks below the end flower. These have 1 or 2 flowers each. The petals are red. The fruit or berry is 3 cm across made up of many small fruit. The fruit is dark red. The fruit are edible.

How to Grow

Species in this genus are generally easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade.

Propagation: Seed - germinates best if given a period of cold stratification prior to sowing in containers. Stored seed requires one month stratification at about 3°c and is best sown as early as possible in the growing season. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow on until large enough to plant out. Cuttings of half-ripe wood in a frame. Tip layering towards the end of the growing season Division just before the plant comes into new growth or as it enters dormancy.

Notes

The plant is polyploid having several sets of chromosomes. There are about 250 Rubus species.

References (4)

J. Arnold Arbor. 21:180. 1940
Kalkman, 1993, Rosaceae. Flora Malesiana ser 1, 11(2) p 258
Plants of Papua New Guinea LAE herbarium record
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew