Rubus rosa
L.H.Bailey
Rose Blackberry
(c) Jaxon Lane, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jaxon Lane
(c) nolrim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) nolrim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and measures about 20mm long.
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.
Rose Blackberry: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Canada, North America, USA,
How to Identify
Rubus rosa is a deciduous shrub with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by insects. It reproduces apomictically by seed formation without sexual fusion. The plant grows in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage, tolerating mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH. It thrives in semi-shade such as light woodland or full sun and prefers moist soil.
How to Grow
Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Some authorities consider this species to be no more than a synonym of R. alumnus. This species is a blackberry 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. The plant produces apomictic flowers, these produce fruit and viable seed without fertilization, each seedling is a genetic copy of the parent. 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 needs one month of 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 or 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
Source ↗Rubus rosa, commonly known as rose blackberry, is a North American species of highbush blackberry in Section Alleghenienses of the genus Rubus, a member of the rose family. It grows in the eastern and central United States (from Maine south to North Carolina and west as far as Minnesota and Nebraska), as well as eastern Canada (Québec).
Other Information
It is cultivated.
Notes
There are about 250 Rubus species.
References (2)
- Mansfield's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops p 430
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
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