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, Vietnam) and Australia. It has also become naturalized in a few scattered locations in the United States. Rubus parvifolius is a shrub up to 2 meters tall with arching branches armed with curved prickles. Young stems are finely pubescent, becoming hairless with age. The leaves are pinnate with 3 to 5 toothed leaflets. Flowers are numerous, in clumps at the end of stems, and have red or pink petals. The red fruit is 1 cm wide.

Description

An evergreen shrub. It is weakly climbing or trailing. It grows to 60 cm high and spreads to 1-3 m across. The stem is trailing and prickly The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaflets are 2-6 cm long. The leaves have teeth around the edge. These have a silvery under-surface. The flowers are small and pink. The fruit are red. They have a few, large, pointed grains.

Edible Uses

The fruit is juicy with a good flavour and can be eaten raw or cooked in pies and preserves. The fruit is small, though individual druplets are quite large. The young plant can be used as a tea substitute.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also made into jam and pies or brewed into wine.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The leaves and root are both astringent. A decoction of either the leaves or the root is used to treat skin diseases and as a stimulant to blood circulation.

Distribution

It is a subtropical to temperate plant. It will grow on most soils. It is drought and frost resistant. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia*, Britain, China, Europe, Indochina, Himalayas, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Taiwan, Tasmania*, Tibet, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Cultivated for its edible fruit in Asia, there are some named varieties. This species is a raspberry with biennial stems, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock, these stems fruit in their second year and then die. This species appears to hybridise in the wild with R. hillii. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation

Seed requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed needs one month of stratification at about 3°C and should be sown as early as possible in the year. Prick out seedlings when large enough to handle, grow on in a cold frame, and plant out into permanent positions in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood can be taken in July/August in a frame. Tip layer in July and plant out in autumn. Division can be done in early spring or just before leaf-fall in autumn.

Other Uses

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit. The stems and roots are a source of tannin.

Other Information

The fruit are especially eaten by children.

Notes

There are about 250 Rubus species.

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

Pink flowered native raspberry

Rubus parvifolius

(c) jen_w1, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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

Pink flowered native raspberry: Thorny woody canes (brambles), aggregate berry made of many drupelets, berries pull easily from receptacle.

Synonyms

Also Known As

A gui luo a bei, Barring-gootch, Eepaeep, Japanese raspberry, Mungsukttalgi, Native Bramble, Ngay la-nho, Rose-leaved raspberry, Thimbleberry, Trailing raspberry, Tu-lui, Ya wen

References (46)

• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 893
• Bonney, N., 2012, Edible Wild Native Plants for Southern Australia. p 58
• Cameron, M., (Ed.) 1981, A Guide to Flowers & Plants of Tasmania. Reed p 78
• Caton, J.M. & Hardwick, R. J., 2016, Field Guide to Useful Native Plants from Temperate Australia. Harbour Publishing House. p 318
• Chen, B. & Qiu, Z., Consumer's Attitudes towards Edible Wild Plants, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. p 24 www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/aip/872413.pdf

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