Rubus phoenicolasius

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit is sweet and juicy and can be eaten raw or cooked. Raspberry-like in character, it is smaller than a raspberry, contains quite a lot of seeds, and is somewhat less flavourful, but still makes very pleasant eating. Notably, after flowering the fruit remains enclosed within its calyx until just before ripening, which helps prevent maggots and similar pests from getting in. The fruit measures about 20mm in diameter.

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

Japanese wineberry

Rubus phoenicolasius

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

Japanese wineberry: 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 is a hardy plant. It is often along the edges of rivers and lakes. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. In Sichuan.

Asia, Australia, Austria, Britain, China, Europe, Germany, Japan, Korea, North America, Russia, Slovenia, Tasmania, USA,

How to Identify

A shrub or climbing vine. It grows 1-3 m tall. It can spread 3 m wide. The branches are upright at first and scrambling later. They are densely hairy. They do not have thorns. The leaves have 3 leaflets and are broadly egg shaped. They have coarse teeth along the edge and are white and like felt underneath. The flowers are pink. The fruit are small round orange coloured berries. They are 1 cm across. The fruit are edible.

How to Grow

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade, preferring light shade. Plants are not too happy when grown in windy situations. Hardy to about -18°c. Some damage may be caused at this temperature but plants usually recover well. A very ornamental plant, its red stems adding colour to the winter garden, it is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit. There is at least one named variety, 'Bella di Tokyo' has small tasty red fruits. 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. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water.

Propagation: Seed requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible and stratified for one month at 3°c if sowing later than February. Prick out seedlings once large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame before planting into permanent positions in late spring of the following year. Tip layer in July and plant out in autumn. Division can be done in early spring.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit.

Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese wineberry, wine raspberry, wineberry or dewberry) is an Asian species of raspberry (Rubus subgenus Idaeobatus) in the rose family, native to China, Japan, and Korea. The species was introduced to Europe and North America as an ornamental plant and for its potential in breeding hybrid raspberries. It has subsequently escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in parts of Europe and North America.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

There are about 250 Rubus species.

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