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- Rubus frondosus
Rubus frondosus — leafy-flowered blackberry
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Facts
N/A
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests, meadows and fields
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.
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- 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 compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf 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 has spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 110–190 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 110–190 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
-
- gray
- purple
- red
- 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
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
-
- the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another
- the carpels are fused to one another
- 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 hairs
- there are hairs on some part of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
- the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)
- Number of pistils
- 6 or more
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- 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
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are separate from one another
- Stamen number
- 13 or more
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
-
- NA
- black
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
-
- the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
- the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
- the fruit is an aggregate (composed of multiple fused ovaries from one flower)
- 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 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 cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- 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
- 110–190 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 chartaceous (thin and dry like paper)
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade width
- 110–190 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf teeth
-
- the leaf blade margin has teeth, which themselves have smaller teeth on them
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is palmately compound with more than three leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
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)
- the first year cane stems are upright or arching
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- gray
- purple
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- fairly widespread (S-rank: S4)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
13. Rubus frondosus Bigelow N
leafy-flowered blackberry. Rubus bellobatus Bailey; R. heterogeneous Bailey; R. insulanus Bailey; R. multispinus Blanch.; R. recurvans Blanch. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Fields, roadsides, forest borders, open rights-of-way.
1×13. Rubus allegheniensis × Rubus frondosus → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA, RI. It is marked by stems armed with stout prickles, leaves that are pubescent abaxially, and an inflorescence with scattered stipitate-glands. Tentative synonym: Rubus rosa Bailey.
12×13. Rubus flagellaris × Rubus frondosus → This uncommon blackberry hybrid is known from CT, MA, NH. It is marked by primocanes with arching to doming or trailing habit, primocane leaflets pubescent abaxially, armature of hooked prickles, and 2- to 6-flowered inflorescences with a pubescent rachis (but lacking stipitate-glands).
13×14. Rubus frondosus × Rubus hispidus → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA. It has primocanes with a mixture of small-based and broad-based prickles that are collectively abundant and abaxially pubescent leaves. The inflorescences have few, relatively small flowers.
13×17. Rubus frondosus × Rubus jaysmithii → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA. It is marked by primocanes with arching to trailing habit and relatively stout prickles. The primocane leaves are abaxially moderately pubescent across the surface. The inflorescences are variable and have 1–6 flowers. This hybrid is very similar to Rubus flagellaris ×R. frondosus but has a greater degree of pubescence on the leaf blades.
13×25. Rubus frondosus × Rubus recurvicaulis → This rare blackberry hybrid is known from Ma, Me. It is very similar to Rubus flagellaris ×R. frondosus hybrids, but occurs with R. recurvicaulis as the low-growing parent rather than R. flagellaris.
13×26. Rubus frondosus × Rubus semisetosus → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA. It is marked by arching habit, stems 3–5 mm in diameter armed with thin, numerous prickles 2–5 mm long that number up to 30 per 10 cm (the prickles are usually more slender than in typical Rubus frondosus). The leaves that are pubescent abaxially. The inflorescence resembles most closely R. semisetosus and has a pubescent, eglandular axis.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Rubus argutus:
- terminal leaflet of primocane leaves elliptic-oblanceolate to elliptic, cuneate to narrow-rounded at the base, 2 or more times as long as wide (vs. R. frondosus, with the terminal leaflet of primocane leaves ovate to broad-ovate, broad-cuneate to cordate at the base, less than 2 times as long as wide).
- Rubus pensilvanicus:
- prickles of the stem mostly 2–4 mm long, numbering 0–20 per 10 cm, leaf blades herbaceous, and inflorescence with mostly 1 or 2 leafy bracts (vs. R. frondosus, with prickles of the stem mostly 4–6 mm long, numbering 4–60 per 10 cm, leaf blades tending to be more chartaceous, and inflorescence with mostly 1–7 leafy bracts).
Synonyms
- Rubus bellobatus Bailey
- Rubus heterogeneous Bailey
- Rubus insulanus Bailey
- Rubus multispinus Blanch.
- Rubus recurvans Blanch.