Rubus ursinus
| Rubus ursinus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rubus ursinus (common name: pacific dewberry)
Propagation: Seed - requires stratification, is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as early as possible in the year in a cold frame and stratify for a month at 3°c if sowing later than February. 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.
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1][2][3].
This species is the parent of many hybrid cultivated forms[4], including the loganberry and the primus berry[5].
Some botanists include the cultivated loganberry (treated here as a separate species, R. loganobaccus) under this species[3].
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[3].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3].
Range: South-western N. America - California to Oregon.
Habitat: Waste places, fields, canyons etc below 1000 metres[4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked and used in pies, preserves etc[6][5]. The fruit can also be dried for later use[5]. A sweet flavour[2][7][8][9]. The fruit can vary in flavour, the best forms have a large, sweet and well flavoured fruit[5], whilst some forms are large but sour or insipid[10].
Young shoots - raw or cooked like asparagus[5]. They are harvested in the spring as they emerge through the soil and are still tender.
A tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves[6][5][11].
The young shoots can be made into a tea, usually mixed with the young shoots of other Rubus species[11].
The half-ripe fruits can be soaked in water to make a pleasant drink[5].
Medicinal: The dried bark of the root is astringent and has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[12].
A decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[11]. The roots have been used as a disinfectant wash on infected sores[11].
The fresh fruit has been eaten in the treatment of diarrhoea[11].
A decoction of the entire vine has been used in the treatment of stomach complaints, diarrhoea and a general feeling of sickness[11].
A decoction of the vines and roots has been used in the treatment of vomiting and the spitting of blood[11].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[13].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1978.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.