PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Rubus niveus
Rosaceae FAMILY

Rubus niveus

Rubus niveus

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

Rubus niveus grows in subtropical or cool tropical climates with a well-distributed medium to high rainfall[1]. In general this species is not very tolerant of frost[1], though one report says that selected provenances can succeed outdoors in the milder regions of the temperate zone[2].. Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[3, 4, 2]. Plants are intolerant of drought[1]. Another report says that the plants are highly tolerant of dryness[5]. Seedling plants can commence bearing fruit when about 1 - 2 years old[1]. Average annual yields from a bush covering 2.5m² in the Himalayas are 657g[6]. There is at least one named variety. 'Mysore' is a form suitable for sub-tropical areas, it has mild but nice flavoured fruit with small seeds[7]. In warm climates, the plant can flower and produce fruit all year round[8]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[2].

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, mid summer in a frame[2]. Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Rubus+niveus>

Pollinators

Insects, Apomixis

References

  1. [1]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Wild Fruits of the Sub-Himalayan Region. — Parmar. C. and Kaushal. M.K. · Kalyani Publishers. New Delhi. · 1982 · ISBN - ↩︎Contains lots of information on about 25 species of fruit-bearing plants of the Himalayas, not all of them suitable for cool temperate zones.
  7. [7]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · 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.
  8. [8]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  9. [9]Forest Flora of Srinagar. — Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
  10. [10]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎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.
  11. [11]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎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.
  12. [12]Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. — Gupta. B. L. · Forest Research Institute Press · 1945 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Therapeutic Constituents and Actions of Rubus Species — Patel A.V.; Rojas-Vera J.; Dacke C.G. · 2004 ↩︎A summary of the various medicinal uses of the genus Rubus
  14. [14]Ethnobotanical Uses of Biofencing Plants in Himachel Pradesh, Northwest Himalaya — Pankaj Sharma & Usha Devi · 2013 · ISBN 1028-8880 ↩︎A brief look at 61 species of plants used in hedging in northwest Himalayas nd their other uses
  15. [15]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.