Rubus hirsutus
| Rubus hirsutus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 7' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rubus hirsutus
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: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[2][3][1].
There is a potential confusion over the name of this species. There is a R. hirsutus with a different author (Wirte.) listed in [4] as growing in woods in Britain. Clearly, one of these two species is wrongly named.
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[1].
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Habitat: Thickets and waste ground in lowland and low mountains of C. and S. Japan[5]. Slopes, roadsides, waste places, thickets and forested slopes at elevations of 900 - 3200 metres[6].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked and used in pies, preserves etc[7][8][9][10]. The fruit varies in size from 1 - 2cm in diameter[6].
Medicinal: The juice of the bruised leaves is used in the treatment of ophthalmia[11].
The fruit is used to promote fertility, strengthen virility etc[11].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[12].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: R. thunbergii. Sieb.&Zucc.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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.
- ↑ Watson, William. Handbook of the Rubi of Great Britain and Ireland.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.