Rubus biflorus

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The yellow fruit is pleasantly flavoured and sweetish, measuring about 20mm in diameter. It can be eaten raw or cooked.

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

Two-flowered raspberry

Rubus biflorus

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

Two-flowered raspberry: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in Nepal between 1700-3300 m altitude. It grows in moist, rocky places. It suits hardiness zones 7-9. In Yunnan.

Asia, Australia, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Tibet,

How to Identify

A shrub. It is large and spreading. It grows 3 m high and spreads 3 m wide. The branches are white with sharp, strong prickles. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are divided into 3-5 leaflets. These leaflets have short stalks. They are 5-8.5 cm long and oval. They have obscure lobes. They have double teeth around the edge and are hairy above, and with a dense white covering underneath. The flowers are white. They are on slender, drooping flower stalks. The fruit is soft and fleshy with a hard layer around the seed. The fruit are round and yellow.

How to Grow

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Hardy to about -15°c. Another report suggests that the plant will only succeed outdoors in the mildest parts of the country. The plant has ornamental white canes but it needs plenty of space and is not a good neighbour because of its prickly stems. This species is a raspberry with biennial stems, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock, these stems fruit in their second year and then die. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Berries are typically harvested in summer, from late spring to early autumn, depending on the species and local climate. Rubus species generally flower in late spring to early summer, usually from May to June (Northern Hemisphere), depending on the specific species and environmental conditions. Rubus species are known for their vigorous growth and can establish quickly, often spreading through both seeds and vegetative propagation. They can reach maturity in 1 to 2 years, with some species growing rapidly within a single growing season. Many Rubus species are self-fertile, meaning that a single plant can produce fruit on its own. However, some varieties may benefit from cross-pollination to increase yield.

Propagation: Seed requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed needs one month of stratification at around 3°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Prick out seedlings once large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame before planting out into permanent positions in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood can be taken in July or August in a frame. Tip layering in July, planting out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in autumn.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit. The plant can serve as ground cover, helping to prevent soil erosion, and its thorns provide a natural barrier. The flowers are rich in nectar and pollen, attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. The berries are a significant food source for birds, mammals, and insects, and the dense thickets provide shelter and nesting sites for small animals and birds. The sprawling growth habit also offers cover and overwintering sites for invertebrates through its stems and leaf litter.

Rubus biflorus is a flowering plant in the genus Rubus (including raspberries and blackberries), in the family Rosaceae. It is a deciduous, suckering shrub, native to East Asia, growing 3m to 3.5m, which is grown ornamentally for its arching white thorny stems in Winter. The underside of the pinnate leaves also has a white bloom. The flowers are white, sometimes followed by edible yellow fruits. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Notes

There are about 250 Rubus species.

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