''Rubus'' is a large and diverse
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of flowering plants in the rose family,
Rosaceae, subfamily
Rosoideae, with
over 1,350 species.
Raspberries
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...
,
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...
, and
dewberries
The dewberries are a group of species in the genus ''Rubus'', section ''Rubus'', closely related to the blackberries. They are small trailing (rather than upright or high-arching) brambles with aggregate fruits, reminiscent of the raspberr ...
are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are also common in the genus. The ''Rubus''
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, sometimes called a bramble fruit, is an
aggregate of
drupelet
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel' ...
s. The term "cane fruit" or "cane berry" applies to any ''Rubus'' species or
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
which is commonly grown with supports such as wires or canes, including raspberries, blackberries, and hybrids such as
loganberry
The loganberry (''Rubus'' × ''loganobaccus'') is a hybrid of the North American blackberry (''Rubus ursinus'') and the European raspberry ('' Rubus idaeus'').
The plant and the fruit resemble the blackberry more than the raspberry, but the fru ...
,
boysenberry,
marionberry
The marionberry (''Rubus L.'' subgenus ''Rubus'') is a cultivar of blackberry developed by the USDA ARS breeding program in cooperation with Oregon State University. A cross between the ' Chehalem' and ' Olallie' varieties, and
tayberry
The tayberry (''Rubus fruticosus'' x ''R. idaeus'') is a cultivated shrub in the genus ''Rubus'' of the family Rosaceae patented in 1979 as a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, and named after the River Tay in Scotland.
The f ...
.
The stems of such plants are also referred to as canes.
Description
Most
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
are
hermaphrodites
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have sep ...
, ''
Rubus chamaemorus
''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...
'' being an exception.
''Rubus'' species have a basic
chromosome number
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectivel ...
of seven.
Polyploidy
Polyploidy is a condition in which the biological cell, cells of an organism have more than one pair of (Homologous chromosome, homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have Cell nucleus, nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they ha ...
from the
diploid (14 chromosomes) to the tetradecaploid (98 chromosomes) is exhibited.
Taxonomy
Modern classification
''Rubus'' is very complex, particularly within the
blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
/
dewberry
The dewberries are a group of species in the genus ''Rubus'', section ''Rubus'', closely related to the blackberries. They are small trailing (rather than upright or high-arching) brambles with aggregate fruits, reminiscent of the raspberry, ...
subgenus (''Rubus''), with polyploidy,
hybridization, and facultative
apomixis apparently all frequently occurring, making species
classification of the great variation in the subgenus one of the grand challenges of
systematic botany
Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things).
Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...
.
Some treatments have recognized dozens of species each for what other, comparably qualified botanists have considered single, more variable species. On the other hand, species in the other ''Rubus'' subgenera (such as the
raspberries
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...
) are generally distinct, or else involved in more routine one-or-a-few taxonomic debates, such as whether the European and American red raspberries are better treated as one species or two (in this case, the two-species view is followed here, with ''
R. idaeus'' and ''
R. strigosus'' both recognized; if these species are combined, then the older name ''R. idaeus'' has priority for the broader species).
The classification presented below recognizes 13 subgenera within ''Rubus'', with the largest subgenus (''Rubus'') in turn divided into 12
sections. Representative examples are presented, but many more species are not mentioned here. A comprehensive 2019 study found subgenera ''Orobatus'' and ''Anoplobatus'' to be
monophyletic, while all other subgenera to be
paraphyletic or
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
.
Phylogeny
The genus has a likely North American origin,
with fossils known from the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
-aged
Florissant Formation
The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones an ...
of Colorado. ''Rubus'' expanded into Eurasia, South America, and Oceania during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
.
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
seeds from the early
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
of ''Rubus'' have been found in the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
part of the
Zittau
Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...
Basin. Many fossil fruits of †''Rubus laticostatus'', †''Rubus microspermus'' and †''Rubus semirotundatus'' have been extracted from bore hole samples of the
Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in
Nowy Sacz Basin,
West Carpathians
The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
.
Molecular data have backed up classifications based on geography and chromosome number, but following
morphological data, such as the structure of the leaves and stems, do not appear to produce a phylogenetic classification.
Species
![Rubus hirsutus2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Rubus_hirsutus2.jpg)
Better-known species of ''Rubus'' include:
*''
Rubus ablatus''
*''
Rubus aboriginum
''Rubus aboriginum'' is a North American species of dewberry, known as the garden dewberry and aboriginal dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, related to the blackberry. It is native to the Unit ...
'' – garden dewberry
*''
Rubus allegheniensis
''Rubus allegheniensis'' is a North American species of glandular highbush blackberry in section Alleghenienses of the genus ''Rubus'', a member of the rose family. It is the most common and widespread highbush blackberry in eastern and centra ...
'' – Allegheny blackberry
*''
Rubus arcticus'' – Arctic raspberry
*''
Rubus argutus
''Rubus argutus'' is a North American species of prickly bramble in the rose family. It is a perennial plant native to the eastern and south-central United States. Common names are sawtooth blackberry or tall blackberry after its high growth.
...
''
*''
Rubus armeniacus
''Rubus armeniacus'', the Himalayan blackberry or Armenian blackberry, is a species of ''Rubus'' in the blackberry group ''Rubus'' subgenus ''Rubus'' series ''Discolores'' (P.J. Müll.) Focke. It is native to Armenia and Northern Iran, and wide ...
'' – Himalayan blackberry
*''
Rubus caesius
''Rubus caesius'' is a Eurasian species of dewberry, known as the European dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, related to the blackberry. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and Asia ...
'' – European dewberry
*''
Rubus canadensis'' – Canadian blackberry
*''
Rubus chamaemorus
''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...
'' – cloudberry
*''
Rubus cockburnianus
''Rubus cockburnianus'', the white-stemmed bramble, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to China. ''
*''
Rubus coreanus
300px, (left to right) ''R. coreanus, R. thibetanus, R. corchorifolius''
''Rubus coreanus'', known as bokbunja ( ko, 복분자), Korean blackberry, or Korean bramble, is a species of raspberry native to Korea, Japan, and China. It produces edi ...
'' – bokbunja
*''
Rubus crataegifolius
''Rubus crataegifolius'', also called Korean raspberry, is a species of raspberry native to East Asia.
It is a shrub growing to 1–2 m (rarely 3 m) tall. The leaves are 5–12 cm long and 5–8 cm broad, palmately lobed with three or ...
''
*''
Rubus deliciosus
''Rubus deliciosus'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the United States. Common names include the delicious raspberry, boulder raspberry, Rocky Mountain raspberry or snowy bramble.
Descript ...
''
*''
Rubus domingensis''
*''
Rubus ellipticus
''Rubus ellipticus'', commonly known as ainselu, golden evergreen raspberry, golden Himalayan raspberry, or yellow Himalayan raspberry, is an Asian species of thorny fruiting shrub in the rose family. It is native to China, Nepal, India, Pakistan ...
''
*''
Rubus flagellaris'' – northern dewberry
*''
Rubus fraxinifolius'' – mountain raspberry
*''
Rubus glaucus''
*''
Rubus hawaiensis
''Rubus hawaiensis'', also called the ''Ākala'', is one of two species (with '' R. macraei'') commonly known as Hawaiian raspberry, endemic to Hawaii. It is found on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, Maui, O'ahu, and Hawaii in mesic to wet for ...
''
*''
Rubus hayata-koidzumii
''Rubus rolfei'', known as creeping raspberry, crinkle-leaf creeper,Oregon State University Department of Horticulture/ref> or Taiwanese creeping bramble, is a low-growing member of the genus ''Rubus'' and is related to the blackberry and raspbe ...
''
*''
Rubus hispidus
''Rubus hispidus'', with the common names swamp dewberry, bristly dewberry, bristly groundberry, groundberry, hispid swamp blackberry or running swamp blackberry, is North American species of dewberry in the rose family.
The plant grows in mois ...
'' – swamp dewberry
*''
Rubus idaeus
''Rubus idaeus'' (raspberry, also called red raspberry or occasionally European red raspberry to distinguish it from other raspberry species) is a red-fruited species of ''Rubus'' native to Europe and northern Asia and commonly cultivated in othe ...
'' – European red raspberry
*''
Rubus illecebrosus''
*''
Rubus laciniatus
''Rubus laciniatus'', the cutleaf evergreen blackberry or evergreen blackberry, is a species of ''Rubus'', native to Eurasia. It is an introduced species in Australia and North America. It has become a weed and invasive species in forested habita ...
'' – cutleaf evergreen blackberry
*''
Rubus leucodermis
''Rubus leucodermis'', also called whitebark raspberry or blackcap raspberry, is a species of ''Rubus'' native to western North America.
Description
''Rubus leucodermis'' is a deciduous shrub growing to , with prickly shoots. While the crown is ...
'' – whitebark raspberry or western black raspberry
*''
Rubus moluccanus''
*''
Rubus nepalensis
''Rubus nepalensis'', the Himalayan creeping bramble or Nepalese raspberry, is a species of evergreen raspberry endemic to Nepal and Himalayan India. It grows to about 1m in diameter, with height up to 20 cm. The fruit is small, edible, and ...
''
*''
Rubus nivalis''
*''
Rubus niveus''
*''
Rubus occidentalis
''Rubus occidentalis'' is a species of ''Rubus'' native to eastern North America. Its common name black raspberry is shared with other closely related species. Other names occasionally used include bear's eye blackberry, black cap, black cap r ...
'' – black raspberry
*''
Rubus odoratus'' – flowering raspberry
*''
Rubus parviflorus
''Rubus parviflorus'', commonly called thimbleberry, (also known as redcaps) is a species of ''Rubus'' native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in ...
'' – thimbleberry
*''
Rubus parvifolius
''Rubus parvifolius'', called Japanese bramble, or Australian raspberry in the United States or native raspberry in Australia is a species of plant in the rose family. It is a scrambling shrub native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
'' – small-leaf bramble (Australia)
*''
Rubus pedatus''
*''
Rubus pensilvanicus'' – Pennsylvania blackberry
*''
Rubus phoenicolasius'' – wine raspberry or wineberry
*''
Rubus plicatus''
*''
Rubus probus''
*''
Rubus pubescens'' – dwarf red blackberry
*''
Rubus rosifolius''
*''
Rubus saxatilis
''Rubus saxatilis'', or stone bramble, is a species of bramble widespread across Europe and Asia from Iceland and Spain east as far as China. It has also been found in Greenland.
The green stems are 20–60 cm tall and covered with minute n ...
'' – stone bramble
*''
Rubus spectabilis
''Rubus spectabilis'', the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west-central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus ''Rubus'' ...
'' – salmonberry
*''
Rubus strigosus
''Rubus strigosus'', the American red raspberry or American raspberry, is a species of ''Rubus'' native to much of North America. It has often been treated as a variety or subspecies of the closely related Eurasian '' Rubus idaeus'' (red raspber ...
'' – American red raspberry
*''
Rubus tricolor
''Rubus tricolor'' () is an evergreen prostrate shrub, native to southwestern China. Leaves are dark green above, pale green below, and stems have red bristles. It has white flowers in summer and edible red fruit. It grows approximately high an ...
''
*''
Rubus ulmifolius
''Rubus ulmifolius'' is a species of wild blackberry known by the English common name elmleaf blackberry or thornless blackberry and the Spanish common name ''zarzamora''. It is native to Europe and North Africa, and has also become naturalized ...
''
*''
Rubus ursinus'' – trailing blackberry
A more complete subdivision is as follows:
Hybrid berries
The term "hybrid berry" is often used collectively for those fruits in the genus ''Rubus'' which have been developed mainly in the U.S. and U.K. in the last 130 years. As ''Rubus'' species readily interbreed and are
apomict
In botany, apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilization. Its etymology is Greek for "away from" + "mixing". This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cuttin ...
s (able to set seed without fertilisation), the parentage of these plants is often highly complex, but is generally agreed to include cultivars of blackberries (''R. ursinus'', ''R. fruticosus'') and raspberries (''R. idaeus''). The British National Collection of ''Rubus'' stands at over 200 species and, although not within the scope of the National Collection, also hold many cultivars.
The hybrid berries include:-
*
loganberry
The loganberry (''Rubus'' × ''loganobaccus'') is a hybrid of the North American blackberry (''Rubus ursinus'') and the European raspberry ('' Rubus idaeus'').
The plant and the fruit resemble the blackberry more than the raspberry, but the fru ...
(California, U.S., 1883) ''R.'' × ''loganobaccus'', a spontaneous hybrid between ''R. ursinus'' 'Aughinbaugh' and ''R. idaeus'' 'Red Antwerp'
*
boysenberry (U.S., 1920s) a hybrid between ''R. idaeus'' and ''R.'' × ''loganobaccus''
*
olallieberry
The olallieberry ( ), sometimes spelled ollalieberry, olallaberry, olalliberry, ollalaberry or ollaliberry, is the marketing name for the 'Olallie' blackberry released by the USDA-ARS (in collaboration with Oregon State University). The berry was ...
(U.S., 1930s) a hybrid between the loganberry and youngberry, themselves both hybrid berries
*
veitchberry (Europe, 1930s) a hybrid between ''R. fruticosus'' and ''R. idaeus''
*
skellyberry (Texas, U.S., 2000s), a hybrid between ''R. invisus'' and ''R. phoenicolasius''
*
marionberry
The marionberry (''Rubus L.'' subgenus ''Rubus'') is a cultivar of blackberry developed by the USDA ARS breeding program in cooperation with Oregon State University. A cross between the ' Chehalem' and ' Olallie' varieties, (1956) now thought to be a blackberry cultivar ''R.'' 'Marion'
*
silvanberry, ''R.'' 'Silvan', a hybrid between ''R.'' 'Marion' and the boysenberry
*
tayberry
The tayberry (''Rubus fruticosus'' x ''R. idaeus'') is a cultivated shrub in the genus ''Rubus'' of the family Rosaceae patented in 1979 as a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, and named after the River Tay in Scotland.
The f ...
(Dundee, Scotland, 1979), another blackberry/raspberry hybrid
*
tummelberry, ''R.'' 'Tummel', from the same Scottish breeding programme as the tayberry
*
hildaberry (1980s), a tayberry/boysenberry hybrid discovered by an amateur grower
*
youngberry
The youngberry is a complex hybrid between three different berry species from the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family: raspberry, blackberry, and dewberry. The berries of the plant are eaten fresh or used to make juice, jam, and in recipes.
Th ...
, a complex hybrid of raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries
Etymology
The generic name means blackberry in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and was derived from the word ''ruber'', meaning "red".
The blackberries, as well as various other ''Rubus'' species with mounding or rambling growth habits, are often called
bramble
A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...
s. However, this name is not used for those like the raspberry that grow as upright canes, or for trailing or prostrate species, such as most dewberries, or various low-growing boreal, arctic, or alpine species. The scientific study of brambles is known as "
batology".
See also
*
List of Lepidoptera that feed on ''Rubus''
*
Mulberry, an unrelated deciduous tree with similar looking fruit
References
External links
*
''Rubus''at the
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...
{{Authority control
Rosaceae genera
Subshrubs
Extant Eocene first appearances