''Rubus caesius'' is a Eurasian species of

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, ...

, known as the European dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

, related to 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 of ...

. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and Asia from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as far east as

Xinjiang Province Xinjiang Province is a historical administrative area of Northwest China, between 1884 and 1955. Periods during which various boundaries of Xinjiang Province have been defined include: * Xinjiang Province (Qing) (1884–1912). * Xinjiang Provin ...

in western China. It has also become sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Argentina, Canada, and the United States.Flora of North America, ''Rubus caesius'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 493. 1753. European dewberry
/ref>

Description

''Rubus caesius'' is similar to and often confused with forms of ''

Rubus fruticosus ''Rubus fruticosus'' L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the rose family. The name has been interpreted in several ways: *The species represented by the type specimen of ''Rubus fruticosus'' L., ...

''. It is a small shrub growing up to tall with biennial stems which die after fruiting in their second year. It sends out long runners which root at the tip to form new plants. The stems are bluish-grey and sometimes prickly. The alternate leaves are hairy above and below. They are stalked and the leaf blades are palmate in shape, either consisting of three oval leaflets with serrated margins and acute points or just being three-lobed. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a loose cluster of several white flowers about in diameter. The calyx has five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and the corolla is composed of five spreading

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s with finely toothed margins. There is a boss of stamens in the centre and there are several pistils. The fruit is an aggregate of several black, fleshy

drupe 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 with a bluish waxy bloom. The dewberry flowers from June to September.

Distribution and habitat

''Rubus caesius'' most often inhabits areas with rocky, basic soil and light shade. It is often found in forest margins, coppices, rocky broadleaf woods and waterside thickets. The Dewberry can hybridise with the

raspberry 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 w ...

(''Rubus idaeus'') and the

stone bramble ''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 ...

(''Rubus saxatilis'').

Hybrids

Various hybrids and cultivars have been developed from the wild form of ''R. caesius'', including '

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. The y ...

' (a

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 w ...

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 ...

hybrid), olallie blackberry and

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,

. Bombus lapidarius - Rubus caesius - Valingu.jpg, Foraging

red-tailed bumblebee ''Bombus lapidarius'' is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus '' Melanobombus''. Commonly known as the red-tailed bumblebee, ''B. lapidarius'' can be found throughout much of Central Europe. Known for its distinctive black and red body, this so ...

on the European dewberry flower Illustration Rubus caesius0.jpg, 1885 illustrationillustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany

References

External links

*
United States Department of Agriculture plants profile for ''Rubus caesius''

photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected near Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus in 1843
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1033449 caesius Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Europe Flora of Asia