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Rubus ursinus

Common name:	Pacific Dewberry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Cham.& Schltdl.	Botanical references:	11, 71, 200
Synonyms:	Rubus vitifolius (Cham.& Schltdl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California to Oregon.
Habitat:	Waste places, fields, canyons etc below 1000 metres[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	R. vitifolius[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	California Blackberry [P], California Dewberry [B], Trailing Blackberry [FEIS], Wild Blackberry [DEN1],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	ursinus = of the bear
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Canada(Kwakiutl) Canada(Salish)
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. It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 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

Drink Fruit Stem Tea.

Fruit - raw or cooked and used in pies, preserves etc[177, 183]. The fruit can also be dried for later use[183]. A sweet flavour[11, 62, 101, 105]. The fruit can vary in flavour, the best forms have a large, sweet and well flavoured fruit[183], whilst some forms are large but sour or insipid[2].
Young shoots - raw or cooked like asparagus[183]. They are harvested in the spring as they emerge through the soil and are still tender.
A tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves[177, 183, 257].
The young shoots can be made into a tea, usually mixed with the young shoots of other Rubus species[257].
The half-ripe fruits can be soaked in water to make a pleasant drink[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Stomachic.

The dried bark of the root is astringent and has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[213].
A decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[257]. The roots have been used as a disinfectant wash on infected sores[257].
The fresh fruit has been eaten in the treatment of diarrhoea[257].
A decoction of the entire vine has been used in the treatment of stomach complaints, diarrhoea and a general feeling of sickness[257].
A decoction of the vines and roots has been used in the treatment of vomiting and the spitting of blood[257].

Other Uses

Dye.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[168].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1, 11, 200].
This species is the parent of many hybrid cultivated forms[71], including the loganberry and the primus berry[183].
Some botanists include the cultivated loganberry (treated here as a separate species, R. loganobaccus) under this species[200].
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, is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as early as possible in the year in a cold frame and stratify for a month at 3° c if sowing later than February. 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.
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring.

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

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[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.

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]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[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.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978
A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.

[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.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[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.

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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