A modern reference to temperate woody plants, including updated content from this site and much new material, can be found at Trees and Shrubs Online.

Rubus corchorifolius L.f.

Modern name

Rubus corchorifolius L.f.

A deciduous shrub of vigorous growth, spreading by underground suckers; stems erect, 6 to 8 ft high, branching towards the top, round, covered with an exceedingly fine down when young, and furnished with rather broad-based prickles. Leaves simple, ovate, with a heart-shaped base, 3 to 7 in. long, two-thirds as wide, those of the sterile sucker stems very deeply three-lobed, purplish when young, margins irregularly toothed, upper surface dull dark green, nearly glabrous, the lower one paler and downy about the veins, midrib spiny; leaf-stalk 1 to 112 in. long, spiny. Flowers white, borne singly or a few together on short lateral twigs. Fruit large, bright red, and, Mr Wilson informed me, of ‘delicious, vinous flavour’.

Introduced by Wilson in 1907 from Central China, but described and named by the younger Linnaeus as long ago as 1781 from Japanese specimens. It appears to be widely spread in China, Korea and Japan. It may prove useful in the wild garden, judging by the way it spreads in borders.


Genus

Rubus

Other species in the genus