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Rubus flagellaris

Common name:	Northern Dewberry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Willd.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America.
Habitat:	Dry fields, openings and borders of thickets[43] in slightly acid soils[159].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	R. alacer[B,P] R. arundelanus[B,P] R. arundelanus var. jeckylanus[B,P] R. ascendens[B,P] R. ashei[B,P] R. bonus[B,P] R. camurus[B,P] R. clausenii[B,P] R. connixus[B,P] R. cordialis[B,P] R. dissitiflorus[B,P] R. enslenii[B,P] R. exemptus[B,P] R. frustratus[B,P] R. geophilus[B,G,P] R. jaysmithii var. angustior[B,P] R. longipes[B,P] R. maltei[B,P] R. neonefrens[B,P] R. occultus[B,P] R. sailori[B,P] R. serenus[B,P] R. subuniflorus[B,P] R. tetricus[B,P] R. tracyi[B,P] R. urbanianus[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dewberry [DEN1], Northern Dewberry [P], Whiplash Dewberry [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flagellaris = with flagella;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Tasmaina.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 0.2m by 2m . It is hardy to zone 3. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects and Apomictic (reproduce by seeds formed without sexual fusion). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 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.

Edible Uses

Fruit; Stem; Tea.

Fruit - raw or cooked in pies, preserves etc[46, 61, 105, 161, 171, 183, 257]. A rich flavour[43]. The fruit is about 15mm in diameter[200].
Young shoots - peeled and eaten raw[183]. They are harvested as they come through the ground in spring and whilst they are still young and tender.
The dried leaves make a fine tea[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antihaemorrhoidal; Antirheumatic; Astringent; Stimulant; Tonic; VD.

The root is astringent, stimulant and tonic[257]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea, venereal disease and rheumatism[257]. An infusion has been used as a wash in the treatment of piles[257]. The root has been chewed as a treatment for a coated tongue[257].
The leaves are astringent[257]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea[257].

Other Uses

Dye.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[168].
A black dye is obtained from the green twigs[207].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1, 11, 200].
A very polymorphic species[43], it is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit and there are some named varieties[1, 171, 183].
This species is a blackberry 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].
The plant produces apomictic flowers, these produce fruit and viable seed without fertilization, each seedling is a genetic copy of the parent[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].

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[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.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

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.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not 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.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[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.

[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.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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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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