Practical
Plants

Rubus caesius

Dewberry

a perennial woody deciduous member of the Rubus genus in the family Rosaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Rosaceae
Genus
Rubus
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
deciduous
Woodiness
woody
Height
0.2 m
Spread
1 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Bees, Flies, Beetles, Apomictic
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Flies, Beetles, Apomictic

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw or cooked[1][7][9][3][6]. Succulent but not very tasty[12]. A delicious flavour, it is considered to be superior to blackcurrants though the fruit is rather small and consists of just a few drupes[7]. The fruit can be used for making jellies, preserves etc[6]. The fresh or dried leaves are used as a tea substitute[10][11][6].

Plant part
Fruit
Product or use
Tea

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[4].

Product or use
Dye

Environment

Range
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, Siberia and W. Asia.
Habitat
Hedgerows, amongst shrubs and in rough dry meadowland, usually on basic soils[1][5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 5+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

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, July/August in a frame[8]. Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[8].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1][2][8]. Succeeds on chalky soils[8]. 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[8]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[8].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00

    ↩

  3. Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2

    ↩

  4. Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8

    ↩

  5. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩

  6. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3

  7. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩1↩2

  8. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

  9. Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7

    ↩

  10. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  11. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  12. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩

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