Rubus laciniatus

Cutleaf evergreen blackberry
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rubus
Species:	R. laciniatus
Binomial name
Rubus laciniatus Willd. 1806

Rubus laciniatus, the cutleaf evergreen blackberry or evergreen blackberry, is a Eurasian species of Rubus. It is an introduced species elsewhere, often being considered invasive.

Description

Rubus laciniatus is a deciduous, bramble-forming shrub growing to 3 meters (10 feet) tall, with prickly shoots. The leaves are palmately compound, with five leaflets, each divided into deeply toothed subleaflets with jagged, thorny tips. The flowers have pink or white petals. Fruits are similar to the common blackberry, with a unique, fruitier flavour.[1][2] The fruits are not true berries in the botanical sense.

The species is unusual in the genus in having 3-lobed petals and also in having deeply divided leaves.[2]

The fruits of this plant are eagerly consumed by a number of animal species, including many birds and mammals.[3] The thickets provide valuable cover for animals.[2][3]

Distribution and habitat

It is an introduced species in Australia and North America, and has become a weed and invasive species in forested habitats in the United States and Canada, particularly in the Northeast and along the Pacific Coast, as well as in Australia.[4][5][6][7]

Cultivation

Wild Rubus laciniatus has been grown for its fruits since 1770. Several commercially important berry cultivars have also been bred from it.[3]

References

1. Paul Slichter, The Blackberries and Brambles of the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington, Cutleaf Blackberry, Cut-leaf Blackberry, Cut-leaved Blackberry, Evergreen Blackberry Rubus laciniatus includes description and photos
2. Alice, Lawrence A.; Goldman, Douglas H.; Macklin, James A.; Moore, Gerry (2014). "Rubus laciniatus". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 9. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
3. Fryer, Janet L. (2021). "Rubus laciniatus". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
4. "Rubus laciniatus". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
5. "Rubus laciniatus". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
6. "European blackberries: Rubus fruticosus sp. agg". keyserver.lucidcentral.org. Queensland Government. 2018-06-20. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
7. "Rubus laciniatus". US Forest Service. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2025-01-21.

External links

• Plants of British Columbia: Rubus laciniatus
• Jepson Manual treatment
• "Rubus laciniatus". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
• Rubus laciniatus in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
• University of Washington, Seattle, Burke Museum
• photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden
• Go Botany, New England Wildflower Society
• "Rubus laciniatus". Plants for a Future.