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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Rubus semisetosus — northeastern blackberry

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New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Facts

N/A

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests, marshes, meadows and fields

Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
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
80–140 mm
Leaf blade width
80–140 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
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
Show all characteristics

  • 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 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 underside of leaf blade
    the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
    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 cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
    • 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
    80–140 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)
    • the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)
    Leaf blade texture
    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
    80–140 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 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 compound, with three leaflets
    • the leaf is palmately compound with more than three leaflets

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    Specific habitat
    • edges of forests
    • forests
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • marshes
    • 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
    brown
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)

New England distribution and conservation status

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts
fairly widespread (uncertain) (S-rank: S4?)

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Rubus setosus:
leaf blades +/- glabrous abaxially, the hairs, when present, essentially confined to the leaflet midribs and primary lateral veins, usually not noticeable to the touch, and primocane armed with stiff, slender bristles (vs. R. semisetosus, with leaf blades +/- evidently pubescent abaxially, with hairs present across the surface, usually noticeable to the touch, and primocanes armed, at least in part, with slender, small-based prickles).
Rubus vermontanus:
leaf blades +/- glabrous abaxially, the hairs, when present, essentially confined to the leaflet midribs and primary lateral veins, usually not noticeable to the touch (vs. R. semisetosus, with leaf blades +/- evidently pubescent abaxially, with hairs present across the surface, usually noticeable to the touch).

Synonyms

  • Rubus ascendens Blanch.
  • Rubus bigelovianus Bailey
  • Rubus hispidoides Bailey
  • Rubus ortivus Bailey
  • Rubus perinvisus Bailey

Family

Rosaceae

Genus

Rubus

Help

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae

26.  Rubus semisetosus Blanch. N

northeastern blackberry. Rubus ascendens Blanch.; R. bigelovianus Bailey; R. hispidoides Bailey; R. ortivus Bailey; R. perinvisus Bailey • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI; also reported from VT by Atwood et al. (1973), but specimens are unknown. Fields, roadsides, forest borders, graminoid marshes, open rights-of-way.

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.

14×26. Rubus hispidus × Rubus semisetosus → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA. The primocanes are armed with mostly 100–300 bristles and small-based prickles per 10 cm and bear leaves with 3–5 oblong-ovate to ovate leaflets that are not lustrous (as in Rubus hispidus) and are abaxially pubescent on the midrib and primary lateral veins and sparsely so between them. It is very similar to R. hispidus ×R. vermontanus but has a greater degree of pubescence on the leaf blades.

26×27. Rubus semisetosus × Rubus setosus → This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from MA. It resembles Rubus 
setosus, but the leaves abaxially have sparse pubescence and small prickles along 
the leaflet midveins.

26×28. Rubus semisetosus × Rubus vermontanus → This rare blackberry hybrid is known from ct, mA. It is similar to Rubus semisetosus, but the pubescence is much less dense and mainly present on the principal veins.