Rubus ferdinandimuelleri

Focke

Rosaceae Edible: Fruit 2 iNaturalist observations

Has a deadly poisonous lookalike — see comparison below

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Description

A bramble. It grows 50 cm tall. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. There are teeth along the edge. There are thorns on the leaf stalks and stems. The flowers are white. The fruit are green and turn red when ripe.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It has been recorded in Central Province in Papua New Guinea.

Where It Grows

Papua New Guinea, PNG,

Notes

TROPICOS has Rubus ferdinandi Focke as an illegitimate name for Rubus ferdinandi-muelleri Focke

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

DEADLY

Red Baneberry

Actaea rubra

Walter Siegmund (talk)

Safe

Rubus ferdinandimuelleri

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Red Baneberry: Short herbaceous plant (no thorns), berries on thick red stems, each berry has a single seed, compound sharply-toothed leaves.

Rubus ferdinandimuelleri: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.

References (2)

Plants of Papua New Guinea LAE herbarium record
Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 105 (As Rubus ferdinandii)