''Rubus cissoides'', commonly called bush lawyer or tātarāmoa in te reo Māori, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rosaceae,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Alan Cunningham described ''R. cissoides'' in 1839. Plants of this species of are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

scrambling vines with compound leaves with 3-5 leaflets each up to 15 cm long, reddish prickles on the branches, white flowers from September to November and red berries from December to April. The conservation status of ''R. cissoides'' is Not Threatened, it is widespread on all three main islands of mainland New Zealand, and it has been used by Māori as food, medicines and construction materials.

Taxonomy and Etymology

''Rubus cissoides''

A.Cunn. Allan Cunningham (13 July 1791 – 27 June 1839) was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in Australia to collect plants. Early life Cunningham was born in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, the son of Allan Cu ...

is in the family Rosaceae. The species was described in 1839 by Alan Cunningham, based on the type specimen collected in 1826 by Cunningham from "dense forests of

Whangaroa Whangaroa is a settlement on Whangaroa Harbour in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is 8 km north-west of Kaeo and 35 km north-west of Kerikeri. The harbour is almost landlocked and is popular both as a fishing spot in its o ...

". The type specimen is lodged at Kew Herbarium (K000762091). The epithet ''cissoides'' means "ivy like" and is derived from the Greek words ''kissos'' (ivy, ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas ( woody vines) in the grape family ( Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Uses Medicinal '' Cissus quadrangularis'' h ...

'') and '' -oides'' (likeness). ''Rubus cissoides'' is the same genus, ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

,'' as 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 ...

and raspberry. In addition to ''R. cissoides,'' there are four other endemic species of ''Rubus'' in New Zealand, including '' R. australis, R. parvus, R. schmideloides,'' and '' R. squarrosus.'' These can be distinguished from one another using prickle, leaf, inflorescence and fruit characteristics. ''Rubus cissoides'' is the most common native species in New Zealand, and has sharply toothed leaflets that are long and narrow. Plants of this species can grow very high - over 15 meters above the ground - and stems may be 17 cm in diameter. Many of the native New Zealand ''Rubus'' species, including ''R. cissoides,'' are commonly called bush lawyer or tātarāmoa in te reo Māori, and other vernacular names for this and other similar ''Rubus'' species in New Zealand include taramoa, akatātarāmoa, taraheke, and tātaraheke. They are considered to be "hook climbers", and are woody, low to high climbing vines or lianes that have backwardly curving hooked prickles, which allow the plant to grip, climb up and find support on shrubs or other vegetation. Rubus_cissoides_235044840

Description

''Rubus cissoides'' plants are dioecious vines up to 10 m long that scramble or climb on other vegetation. Young stems are covered in hooked reddish prickles, especially on the underside, whereas mature stems are without prickles and are hairless. Leaves are palmately or ternately

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

, smooth and hairless, with up to 5 long and narrow leaflets (young plants) or 3–5 leaflets (mature plants). Petioles and petiolules have hooked prickles. Leaflets are variable in size and shape, 6–15 cm long and up to 6 cm wide,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

or oblong, sharply toothed on the edges, with a pointed tip.

Inflorescences 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 ...

are large and much-branched

panicles A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are o ...

of white flowers up to 20 cm long. Flowers have 5 sepals and 5 petals, and are either male (with numerous stamens, but with no style or only a rudimentary one) or female (with functional style, but with no stamens or only a few rudimentary stamens). The

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

are around a centimetre in diameter, yellow to red, and made up of about 10–15 drupelets.

Distribution and habitat

''Rubus cissoides'' is endemic to and widespread in New Zealand, and occurs on all three of the main islands: North Island, South Island and Stewart Island. It is found in lowland and montane habitats, often in forests, but also in scrub and wetland margins, often in moist, sunny environments.

Conservation status

''Rubus cissoides'' is considered to be Not Threatened in the most recent assessment (2017–2018) under the New Zealand Threat Classification system for plants.

Life cycle and phenology

In a seed germination experiment, 82% of ''Rubus cissoides'' seeds germinated, with some germinating in spring, remaining seeds germinating at a slow, steady rate over two years. Young plants spread over the forest floor until finding an appropriate shrub or vegetation for support. They can support themselves up to a height of about 60 cm before requiring support in the form of other vegetation. ''R. cissoides'' is insect-pollinated, and it flowers from September to November and fruits from December to April.

Herbivory and diseases

The non-native

herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

, deer and possums, eat small amounts of the foliage or leaf litter of ''R. cissoides,'' and possums have been known to eat the berries and flowers of ''R. cissoides''. The blackberry rust fungus '' Phragmidium violaceum'', appears as black patches on the leaves and can cause mild infections in ''R. cissoides.''

Uses

''Rubus cissoides'' and other native New Zealand ''Rubus'' species were used by Māori and continue to have multiple uses, including as food, construction materials, or medicines. The fruits are eaten by birds and people, the branches can be used for making traps, and the crushed berries form a dye which is blue or purple in colour. Some of the ways Māori used ''Rubus'' plants medicinally include using the bark of the stem to treat abdominal pains, using root bark to treat diarrhea, and preparing crushed leaves to relieve chest congestions and colds.

Gallery

File:Rubus cissoides A.Cunn. (AM AK376537).jpg File:BushLawyer.jpg File:Lake Matheson Walk MRD 09.jpg File:Rubus cissoides 239955101.jpg File:Rubus cissoides 199185439.jpg

References

External links

*
''Rubus cissoides'' occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7376205 cissoides Endemic flora of New Zealand Plants described in 1839