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Rubus ulmifolius

Common name:	Elm-Leaved Bramble	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Schott.	Botanical references:	11, 17, 200
Synonyms:	Rubus discolor (Syme. non Weihe.&Nees.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from he Netherlands south and east to N. Africa, Italy and Macaronesia.
Habitat:	Very common in many habitats, succeeding on chalk and clay and preferring open sunny habitats[11, 17, 150].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	R. armeniacus[G] R. bellidiflorus[G] R. inermis[G] R. praecox[G] R. procerus[B,G,P] R. ulmifolius f. bellidiflorus[G] R. ulmifolius var. bellidiflorus[G] R. ulmifolius var. inermis[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Elm-leaf Blackberry [B], Elmleaf Blackberry [P], Himalaya Blackberry [L,DEN1], Himalayan Blackberry [P,B,FEIS],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe
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 3m by 4m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

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

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[105, 145]. Aromatic, but with small dryish drupelets[11]. Sweet[148].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Dye.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[168].
The root yields an orange dye when mixed with salt[148].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil[1, 11, 200]. Succeeds on chalk or clay soils, preferring open habitats in the wild[17, 150]. Tolerates poor soils so long as they are not dry[202]. Succeeds in sun or semi-shade[1, 11, 200] and also in deep shade though growth is more lax in such a position[202].
Hardy to about -18°c[202].
Plants reproduce sexually and not apomictically like many brambles. Individual plants are self-sterile[17].
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].
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

References for Rubus discolor (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Rubus procerus (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[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.

[145] Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976
A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.

[148] Niebuhr. A. D. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America. 1970
A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.

[150] Watson. W. C. R. Handbook of the Rubi of Great Britain and Ireland.
There are hundreds of slightly differing species of the common blackberry growing in Britain. This is a book for the dedicated.

[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.

[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.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

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Bibliography

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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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