Rosaceae FAMILY

Rubus niveus

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Rubus niveus is a deciduous shrub producing a cluster of erect to arching, often scrambling, prickly biennial stems from 100 - 300cm long. 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, A very spiny plant, it often scrambles into other plants, supporting itself by means of its prickly stems. The plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use as a food, and is also used as a medicine. The plant is occasionally cultivated for this fruit in Asia, and has been introduced as a fruit crop to Florida and Puerto Rico[ 183 Title Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications Year 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 Description 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. , 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. ]. Rubus niveus is a highly invasive plant that was introduced around the world through the horticultural trade for its production of sweet tasting fruit and as an ornamental due to the striking red-purple colour of its stems. Nevertheless, cultivated crops were abandoned due to the formation of dense, spiny thickets and many plants escaped from cultivation aided by the distribution of seed by birds. Outside of cultivation, it can outcompete native vegetation, decrease biodiversity and threaten rare endemic species. Rubus niveus has been described as the most invasive weed species on the Galapagos Archipelago and has been declared a noxious weed in the state of Hawaii[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangeAsia - Afghanistan, central and southern China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines

HabitatForests and forest clearings at elevations from 1,700 - 2,300 metres in Kashmir[ 145 Title Forest Flora of Srinagar. Publication Author Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Publisher Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh Year 1976 ISBN - Description A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses. , 146 Title A Manual of Indian Timbers. Publication Author Gamble. J. S. Publisher Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh Year 1972 ISBN - Description First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader. ]. Thickets on slopes, sparse forests, montane valleys, streamsides and flood plains at elevations of 500 - 2,800 metres in China[ 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. ].