Rubus innominatus
S. Moore
Bai ye mei
(c) MP Zhou, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by MP Zhou
(c) MP Zhou, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by MP Zhou
(c) Shiqi Zhou, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Shiqi Zhou
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and has a good flavour. It is orange-red in colour and about 10mm in diameter.
Dangerous Lookalikes
This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.
Red Baneberry: Short herbaceous plant (no thorns), berries on thick red stems, each berry has a single seed, compound sharply-toothed leaves.
Bai ye mei: 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 forests on mountain slopes and riversides between 400-2500 m altitude in S China. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Asia, China*, North America, USA,
How to Identify
A shrub. It grows 1-3 m high. The branches arch over. The small branches are reddish brown and with a dense covering. There are just a few curved prickles. The leaves are compound. They are divided 3 to 5 times. The leaf stalk is 2-4 cm long. The blade of the leaflets varies in shaped and is 4-10 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. The edges can have irregular lobes and teeth. The leaves have a grey covering underneath. The flowers are near the end of branches. The fruit is orange red and 1 cm across. Some varieties have been described based on leaf shape and plant hairiness.
How to Grow
Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Closely related to R. kuntzeanus. 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.
Propagation: Seed requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires one month stratification at about 3°c and should be sown as early as possible in the year. Prick out seedlings when large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame, then plant out into permanent positions in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood can be taken in July/August in a frame. Tip layering can be done in July, with plants set out in autumn. Division is possible 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.
Wikipedia
A deciduous shrub reaching 3m in height. Flowers in June with seed ripening July to August. Hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Grows in mildly acidic to basic soil pH, semi-shade or full sun, with moist soil preference.
Notes
There are about 700 Rubus species.
Names & Synonyms
References (4)
- J. Bot. 13:226. 1875
- Lu Lingdi, Boufford, D.E., Rubus. Flora of China.
- Mansfield's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops p 423
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
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