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Rubus ellipticus

Common name:	Golden Evergreen Raspberry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Sm.	Botanical references:	51, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Himalayas from Pakistan to China, also in S. India and Sri Lanka.
Habitat:	Shrubberies and open hillsides, to 2300 metres in the Himalayas[51]. Dry slopes, montane valleys, sparse forests and thickets at elevations of 1000 - 2600 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	R. flavus[G] R. gowreephul[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Yellow Himalayan Raspberry [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	ellipticus = elliptic
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Nepal
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Tasmaina.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4.5m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[[46, 51, 183, 272]. A good raspberry-like flavour[146, 158, 183]. Sweet with a pleasant blend of acidity[194]. he golden yellow fruit is about 10mm in diameter[266]. Annual yields from wild plants in the Himalayas are about 750g from a plant occupying 2.5m² [194]. The fruit contains about 10.9% sugars, 1.1% protein, 0.5% ash, 0.55 pectin[194].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Febrifuge Kidney Miscellany Stomachic.

The plant is astringent and febrifuge[272]. A decoction of the root, combined with Girardinia diversifolia root and the bark of Lagerstroemia parviflora, is used in the treatment of fevers[272]. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of fevers, gastric troubles, diarrhoea and dysentery[272]. A paste of the roots is applied externally to wounds[272]. Both the roots and the young shoots are considered to be a good treatment for colic[272].
The leaf buds, combined with Centella asiatica and Cynodon dactylon, are pounded to a juice and used in the treatment of peptic ulcers[272].
The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of fever, colic, coughs and sore throat[272].
The inner bark is used in Tibetan medicine, it is said to have a sweet and sour flavour plus a heating potency[241]. A renal tonic and antidiuretic, it is used in the treatment of weakening of the senses, vaginal/seminal discharge, polyuria and micturation during sleep[241].

Other Uses

Dye Soil stabilization.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[168].
The plant is grown to deter soil erosion and is good for soil conservation[272].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1, 11, 200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, but it tolerates some frost and should succeed outdoors in the south and west of the country[200].
Cultivated for its edible fruit in southern U.S.A[46]. The fruit is sold in local markets in the Himalayas[194, 272].
This species has become established and naturalized in some areas of the Andes in S. America, where it is looking as though it could become a serious weed problem.
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[200].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires one month stratification at about 3° c and is best sown as early as possible in the year. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[200].
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[194] Parmar. C. and Kaushal. M.K. Wild Fruits of the Sub-Himalayan Region. Kalyani Publishers. New Delhi. 1982
Contains lots of information on about 25 species of fruit-bearing plants of the Himalayas, not all of them suitable for cool temperate zones.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[241] Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994 ISBN 81-900489-0-2
A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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