Rubus hirsutus

Botanical Description

Rubus hirsutus is a deciduous shrub producing a cluster of erect, biennial stems from a woody rootstock; the plant can grow 100 - 200cm tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth; forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It has been cultivated as a fruit crop in China since 1987, when it was said to have a high economic value, and that there were vast reserves of the plant[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]