Rubus leucodermis

Rubus leucodermis, also called whitebark raspberry, blackcap raspberry,^[2][3] or blue raspberry,^[4] is a species of Rubus native to western North America.

Rubus leucodermis
Rubus leucodermis var. bernardinus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rubus
Subgenus:	R. subg. Idaeobatus
Species:	R. leucodermis
Binomial name
Rubus leucodermis Dougl. ex Torr. & A.Gray 1840
Synonyms[1]
Melanobatus leucodermis (Douglas ex Torr. & A. Gray) Greene Rubus occidentalis var. leucodermis (Douglas ex Torr. & A. Gray) Focke

Description

Rubus leucodermis is a deciduous shrub growing to 0.5–2.5 metres (1+1⁄2–8 feet), with prickly shoots.^[5] While the crown is perennial, the canes are biennial, growing vegetatively one year, flowering and fruiting the second, and then dying. As with other dark raspberries, the tips of the first-year canes (primocanes) often grow downward to the soil in the fall, and take root and form tip layers which become new plants. The leaves are pinnate, with five leaflets on the leaves' hardy stems in their first year, and three leaflets on leaves on flowering branchlets with white (and infrequently light purple) flowers.

The fruit is 1–1.2 centimetres (3⁄8–1⁄2 inch) diameter, red to reddish-purple at first, turning dark purple to nearly black when ripe.^[6] The edible fruit^[7] has high contents of anthocyanins and ellagic acid.^[2][8]

R. leucodermis is similar to the eastern black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis).^[8]

• 
  Bush in Nevada
• 
  Leaves
• 
  Berries
• 
  Close-up of fruit

Taxonomy

Subdivision

Three varieties are recognized:^[3]

• Rubus leucodermis var. leucodermis – Alaska to Chihuahua
• Rubus leucodermis var. bernardinus Jepson – southern California
• Rubus leucodermis var. trinitatis Berger – southern California

Etymology

The name leucodermis means "white skin", referring to the white appearance of the stems because of a thick waxy coating on the surface.

Distribution and habitat

The species can be found from Alaska southward along the Pacific coast as far as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Chihuahua.^{[9][10][11][8][12]}

Ecology

The plant forms natural hybrids with other species in subgenus Idaeobatus.

See also

• Rubus coreanus
• Rubus niveus
• Blue raspberry flavor

References

1. Tropicos, Rubus leucodermis Douglas ex Torr. & A. Gray
2. "Jepson Flora Project: Rubus leucodermis". Jepson Herbaria, University of California at Berkeley. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
3. "Rubus leucodermis". US Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
4. "Black raspberry". Arcata, California: Northcoast Environmental Center. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
5. "Rubus leucodermis - Torr.&A.Gray". Plants for a Future. 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
6. Pojar, Jim; Andy MacKinnon (2004). Plants Of The Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Lone Pine Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-55105-530-5.
7. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
8. Flora of North America Rubus leucodermis Douglas ex Torrey & A. Gray, 1840.
9. "Rubus leucodermis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
10. "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map".
11. Calflora taxon report, University of California, Rubus leucodermis Torrey & A. Gray, White Stemmed Raspberry, western raspberry, white bark raspberry
12. "Rubus leucodermis". swbiodiversity.org. SEINet, Arizona-New Mexico Chapter.

External links

• Media related to Rubus leucodermis at Wikimedia Commons
• "Rubus leucodermis". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
• UC Photos gallery: Rubus leucodermis