Rubus leucostachys

Botanical Description

Rubus leucostachys is a semi-deciduous shrub, producing each year a cluster of spreading or arching, prickly, biennial stems from a woody rootstock; the plant can grow up to 3 metres tall when growing through other vegetation, but is usually lower-growing. 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 roots where shoot tips touch the ground, forming new plants and developing into a dense thicket[ 365 Title Flora of New South Wales Publication Author Website http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is sometimes cultivated for its fruit. Introduced into Australia for its edible fruit, the plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in southeastern parts of the country. It has become a serious weed of agriculture, forestry and the environment[ 365 Title Flora of New South Wales Publication Author Website http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants. ].