Rubus canadensis
| Rubus canadensis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 8' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Rubus canadensis (common name: american dewberry)
Propagation: 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[1].
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[1].
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[2][3][1].
This species is a blackberry 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[1]. The stems are free from prickles[4].
The plant produces apomictic flowers, these produce fruit and viable seed without fertilization, each seedling is a genetic copy of the parent[1].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[1].
Range: North-eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Michigan and North Carolina.
Habitat: Thickets, woods and clearings[5][4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked in pies, jams etc[6][7][5][8][9]. Sweet, juicy and richly flavoured, it is generally preferred to most other species of blackberries[6][9]. The fruit can be pressed into cakes and then dried for later use[10]. The fruit can be up to 25mm long[4].
Medicinal: The stems and the fruit have been used in the treatment of dysentery[10].
A decoction of the root has been used in the treatment of dysentery[10].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[11].
Pollinators: Apomixy
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: R. millspaughii.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.