Rhodotypos scandens — black jetbead
![Leaves: Rhodotypos scandens. ~ By Alexey Zinovjev. ~ Copyright © 2024. ~ webmaster[at]salicicola.com ~ Salicicola - www.salicicola.com/](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Rosaceae/rhodotypos-scandens-le-azinovjev.jpg)
![Flowers: Rhodotypos scandens. ~ By Alexey Zinovjev. ~ Copyright © 2024. ~ webmaster[at]salicicola.com ~ Salicicola - www.salicicola.com/](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Rosaceae/rhodotypos-scandens-fl-azinovjev.jpg)
![Bark: Rhodotypos scandens. ~ By Bruce Patterson. ~ Copyright © 2024 Bruce Patterson. ~ foxpatterson[at]comcast.net](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Rosaceae/rhodotypos-scandens-ba-bpatterson.jpg)
![Fruits: Rhodotypos scandens. ~ By Alexey Zinovjev. ~ Copyright © 2024. ~ webmaster[at]salicicola.com ~ Salicicola - www.salicicola.com/](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Rosaceae/rhodotypos-scandens-fr-azinovjev.jpg)
![Winter buds: Rhodotypos scandens. ~ By Bruce Patterson. ~ Copyright © 2024 Bruce Patterson. ~ foxpatterson[at]comcast.net](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Rosaceae/rhodotypos-scandens-wb-bpatterson.jpg)
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Facts
Black jetbead is a member of the rose family, native to Japan. It is the only species in the genus Rhodotypos in New England, where it is considered introduced; in parts of North America, this species can be invasive. This is a scruffy but adaptable deciduous shrub, hardy to zone 4 and growing up to 6 feet (2 m) tall. White, four-petaled flowers bloom in early June and produce shiny black berries in groups of 3 to 4 in October, which persist through the winter.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 40–110 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 30–60 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- green
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
-
Flowers
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- white
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower has a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence has only one flower on it
- Number of pistils
- 4
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
- 13 or more
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
-
- NA
- black
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
-
- the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 40–110 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- Leaf blade texture
-
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- the leaf blade is membranaceous (thin, flexible, almost translucent)
- Leaf blade width
- 30–60 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf teeth
-
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- the leaf blade margin is serrulate (with forward-pointing) or denticulate (with outward-pointing) with tiny teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- green
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
1. Rhodotypos scandens (Thunb.) Makino E
black jetbead. Corchorus scandens Thunb. • CT, MA; also reported from NH and VT by Bean et al. (1967), but specimens are unknown. Forest fragments, waste areas.