Rubus pinnatus

Willd.

South African raspberry

Rosaceae Edible: Fruit 698 iNaturalist observations

Has a deadly poisonous lookalike — see comparison below

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Description

A small bush or scrambler. It can grow 3.5 m high. The flowering branches have prickles. The leaves are 10-19 cm long by 8-12 cm wide. They are divided into leaflets. The flower petals are small but pink. The fruit are red.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw or used for jams.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for jams.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in forests near streams. It grows between 1,100-2,230 m altitude. In Kenya it grows between 1,500-2,750 m altitude.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinée, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Southern Africa, St Helena, Swaziland, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

It can be used as a hedge plant.

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

South African raspberry

Rubus pinnatus

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

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

Synonyms

Rubus kingaensis Engl.Rubus pinnatus forma subglandulosus C. E. Gust.

Also Known As

Amakerre, Amaqunube, Braambos, Cape bramble, Enkenene, Gumence, Gumgumence, Hagena, Ijikijolo, Iqunube, Kapete, Ligungumence, Mtoje, Mucato, Munambala, N'cato, Yekola-enjori

References (27)

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Chapman, J. D. & Chapman, H. M., 2001, The Forest Flora of taraba and Andamawa States, Nigeria. WWF & University of Canterbury. p 196
Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 316

Show all 27 references

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JSTOR Global Plants edible
Kakeya, 1976,
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Luizza, M. W., et al., 2013, Local Knowledge of Plants and their uses among Women in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 11:315-339
Magwede, K., van Wyk, B.-E., & van Wyk, A. E., 2019, An inventory of Vhavenḓa useful plants. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 57–89
Malaisse, F., 1997, Se nourrir en floret claire africaine. Approche ecologique et nutritionnelle. CTA., p 67
Maundu, P. et al, 1999, Traditional Food Plants of Kenya. National Museum of Kenya. 288p
Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
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Vivien, J., & Faure, J.J., 1996, Fruitiers Sauvages d'Afrique. Especes du Cameroun. CTA p 277
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
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World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew