Practical
Plants

Rubus crataegifolius

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
2.5 m
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

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

Fruit - raw or cooked[6][10][2]. The fruit is large and transparent, it is a raspberry with a sweet agreeable flavour[5]. The dark red fruit is about 10mm in diameter[8]. Leaves? - the record was unsure if they were edible.

Plant part
Fruit
Plant part
Leaves

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
E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Habitat
Waste ground and clearings in mountains[9]. Sunny thickets on slopes, forest margins, ravines and roadsides at elevations of 300 - 2500 metres[8].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 5+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, 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[7]. Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[7].

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][3][7]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit, there is at least one named variety. 'Jingu Jengal' is a high-yielding selection from Korea with larger fruits, up to 2g in weight[5]. This species is a raspberry 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[7]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[7].

References

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

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

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

    ↩

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

    ↩

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

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩

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

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  8. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

    ↩1↩2

  9. Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00

    ↩

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

    ↩

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