Rubus trifidus
Thunb.
(c) Keita Watanabe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Keita Watanabe
(c) hakkahamushi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and has a pleasant, agreeable taste.
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.
Rubus trifidus: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Asia, Japan,
How to Identify
An evergreen shrub reaching 2 m tall with hermaphrodite flowers in May. Hardy to UK zone 6. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage. Tolerates mildly acid to basic pH and can thrive in semi-shade or full sun. Prefers moist soil and can withstand maritime exposure.
How to Grow
Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Plants are evergreen when grown in a sheltered woodland. Often cultivated for its edible fruit in Japan, plants do not flower very freely in Britain. Plants have perennial stems that are thornless. 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 or August and rooted in a frame. Tip layer in July and plant out in autumn. Division can be done in early spring or just before leaf-fall in autumn.
Medicinal Uses
None known
Other Uses
A purple to dull blue dye can be obtained from the fruit.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Rubus trifidus is a Japanese species of brambles, related to blackberries and raspberries. Rubus trifidus has palmately lobed leaves with large teeth along the edges. Flowers are white. Fruits are orange.
Other Information
It is cultivated.
Notes
There are about 250 Rubus species.
Names & Synonyms
Kaji-ichigo
References (5)
- Fl. jap. 217. 1784
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 581
- Mansfield's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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