Rubus ulmifolius Schott
It is a member of the Rubus fruticosus aggregate.
Order: RosalesFamily: Rosaceae
Rubus is from the Latin ruber meaning red and refers to the red immature berries.
Small Leaf Blackberry.
Summary:A semi deciduous, prickly shrub with straight to curved thorns on the angles of the long canes and red to black berry fruit. It has pink flowers.
Description:See the Weedy Blackberry and Rose key.
Leaves:Compound. Leaflets 3 or 5, arranged pedately, lower petiolule 1-3(4) mm long, lateral petiolule 2-15 mm long, terminal petiolule 10-30 mm long; basal leaflet pair rarely lobed.
Stipules - Attached to petiole.
Petiole - Petiole 25-55(60) mm long.
Blade - of terminal leaflet 35-65 mm long, 20-45 mm wide, elliptic to broadly elliptic, base rounded, margin finely toothed (serrate), apex pointed (acute to acuminate), lower surface white or grey-green, densely and minutely felted, pilose hairs lacking, lamina obscure.
Stems:Primocanes widely spreading but not high arching, strongly angled, the angles furrowed or not; indumentum of sparse erect, tufted hairs, the cane appearing purple-black or of close dense appressed hairs and the cane appearing grey; white waxy covering present with age; prickles 7-9 mm long, straight or curved, declined, mainly confined to the angles, 3-10 per 5 cm length.
Floricane similar to primocane, closely densely pubescent with erect tufted hairs; leaves with 3 leaflets, basal pair sometimes lobed, sometimes simple at the base of the inflorescence; petiole 20-55 mm long; lateral petiolule 1-10 mm long, terminal petiolule 10-25 mm long; terminal leaflet 25-80 mm long, 20-55 mm wide.
Flower head:Inflorescence compact, cylindrical; rachis indumentum a close dense covering of erect non-glandular hairs.
Styles - pale green to brownish-pink.
Sepals - armed or not, densely non-glandular pubescent, apex shortly acuminate.
Petals - 8-10 mm long, 4-10 mm wide, broad elliptic to orbicular, pink, touching or almost touching, often slightly crumpled and cupped, apex entire or slightly irregularly toothed (erose).
Stamens - equal in length to styles; filaments white to deep pink;
Anthers - anthers with or without pilose hairs.
Young carpels pubescent.
Crown and long laterals. Usually non suckering.
Key Characters:Primocanes low arching, glabrous, often with whitish waxy layer with age, clearly angled, the angles flat or furrowed.
Upper and lower leaf surfaces differing markedly in colour, the lower whitish or grey-green.
Floral rachis densely pubescent with erect non-glandular hairs.
Petals pale pink, staying pink, touching in young flower, somewhat recurved with age.
Filaments and styles at similar level.
Adapted from Robyn and Bill Barker.
Perennial. Tip roots in autumn.
By seed and tip rooting (layering).
Reproduces sexually and shows considerably more variation than other species in the Rubus fruticosus agg. (All other members of the R. fruticosus agg. reproduce asexually by apomixis).
Diploid and may be self incompatible.
Flowering times:Early summer in WA.
Seed Biology and Germination:Vegetative Propagules:
Canes tip root.
Hybrids and Varieties:Two varieties;
Rubus ulmifolius Schott var. ulmifolius. There is a small leaved variety in WA and other states however it doesn't appear to be genetically distinguishable for the larger leave varieties.
Rubus ulmifolius var. anoplothyrsus Sudre is thornless.
Allelopathy:Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Origin and History:
Possibly originated in Italy and its natural range includes Britain, southern and central Europe to north-west Africa.
Introduced into Australia in the 1800's for their edible berries. Genetic analysis indicates that there was two separate introductions of the species into Australia.
Distribution:ACT, NSW, SA, VIC, WA.
Courtesy Australia's Virtual Herbarium.
Soil:Prefers moist soil.
Fruit eaten fresh or made into jams and conserves.
Detrimental:Weed of disturbed areas.
Toxicity:Not recorded as toxic.
Management and Control:Goats provide a method of non-chemical control. Infested areas are grazed with 7.5 goats per ha in the first year, then 1.25 goats per ha in subsequent years.
Slashing alone is generally ineffective.
Multiple cultivations provide control but may lead to erosion and soil structure problems.
Scalping to 30 cm and root raking can be effective but may require a follow up with other control measures to control re-shooting root and stem fragments and seedlings. Rehabilitation of the site is often required to prevent reinfestation.
Mechanical removal, or slashing and burning followed by cultivation, can provide control if repeated regularly and then followed by planting of a competitive, preferably perennial, pasture species that is grazed.
Seedlings rarely establish in dense pasture or undisturbed native vegetation.
Improving pasture management usually prevents reinfestation.
Control with herbicides is usually the most cost effective. Metsulfuron (Brush Off®) and triclopyr (Garlon®) or triclopyr plus picloram (Grazon®) have provided the best results. Glyphosate can be used in home gardens or other sensitive areas. Apply herbicides when the plant is actively growing and has good leaf area.
Basal bark applications using Access® plus diesel can be used where canes are removed mechanically.
Dead stems may be burnt or slashed in the following season to allow access and rehabilitation of the site.
Fire provides little control alone but assists access for herbicide application or other controls.
In Pine plantations hexazinone can be used.
Follow up treatments are essential for high levels of control.
Low volume spraying is usually effective providing the amount of active ingredient applied per bush is kept constant.
For high volume spraying use 1 litre of mix for each 2.5 cubic metres of bush (or 2.5 square metres of low lying bush). This is equivalent to about 4000 L/ha of spray mix being applied.
In large infestations, consider using the cheaper metsulfuron for a year or two to reduce the size of the infestation then follow up with the more effective and costly triclopyr + picloram herbicides.
Mechanical control is difficult and most of the root system must be removed for effective control.
3 annual, summer applications of 1 L of Grazon® plus 250 mL of Pulse® Penetrant in 100 L of water generally gives very high levels of control. Replant native species after control has been achieved or establish a competitive, and preferably perennial, pasture species then graze to prevent seedlings establishing.
On large infestations, 10 g metsulfuron(600g/kg) plus 250 mL Pulse® Penetrant in 100 L water, applied in summer when the plant is actively growing, provides a cheaper option to reduce the size of the infestation before Grazon® is used.
Herbicide resistance:None reported.
Elmleaf Blackberry is one of the few Blackberries that reproduces sexually, so it may develop resistance to herbicides after many applications of herbicides from the same group.
Biological Control:Related plants:
There are no native Rubus species in WA.
Blackberry (Rubus anglocandicans = Rubus discolor = Rubus procerus, Rubus fruticosus, Rubus ulmifolius)
Blackberry (Rubus anglocandicans) is the main weedy variety in WA. Its main flowering is in December to January and it has white flowers (though it may be pinkish in the bud). The leaves tend to be whitish on the lower surface.
Boysenberry is a cross between a Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), a Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), an American Dewberry (Rubus aboriginum) and a Loganberry (Rubus × loganobaccus). It has narrow straight thorns.
California Dewberry (Rubus ursinus) is not naturalised in Australia.
Cutleaf Blackberry (Rubus laciniatus ssp. laciniatus) has cut leaf - see diagram.
Dewberry (Rubus roribaccus) is in NSW and Victoria.
Elmleaf Blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius) has pinkish petals and smaller leaves than R. anglocandicans. Some varieties are thornless.
Keriberry (Rubus rugosus) has leaves that are green on top and whitish underneath and roundish canes covered in brown hairs.
Kittatinny Blackberry (Rubus bellobatus)
Loganberry (Rubus loganobaccus, Rubus x loganobaccus) has narrow straight thorns and usually flowers later than blackberry.
Mountain Raspberry (Rubus gunnianus)
Native Raspberry (Rubus hillii = Rubus moluccanus var. trilobus A.R.Bean) is a native of the east coast of Australia and has simple palmately lobed leaves
that tend to be green on the upper an lower surfaces. The flowers are white with no pink tinges there are glandular hairs on the canes that look like red dots under a hand lens.
Plains or Bundy (American) Blackberry (Rubus laudatus) flowers in September to November with fruit in December - somewhat earlier than Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
Rose-leaved Bramble (Rubus rosifolius) is a native plant of the east coast of Australia.
Thimbleberry (Rubus parvifolius, Rubus rosifolius) is a native plant of the east coast of Australia and Tasmania. It has almost stalkless leaflets with the upper side being green and the underside almost white. The flowers are pink to red flowers on 2-3 cm stalks.
Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)
Yellow Raspberry (Rubus ellipticus)
Rubus discolor = Rubus procerus is not in Australia but the older literature refers to R. anglocandicans as R. discolor in Western Australia and R. procerus in the eastern states.
Rubus odoratus is similar to Thimbleberry and occurs in SA and Tasmania.
Rubus selmeri = R. laciniatus
Apple (Pirus malus), Pear (Pirus communis), Quince (Cydonia vulgaris), Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), Plum (Prunus domestica), Apricot (Prunus armeniaca), Almond (Prunus amygdalus), Peach (Prunus persica) and Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) are all in the same family as Raspberry.
Plants of similar appearance:See the Weedy Blackberry and Rose key.
References:Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J. and Lloyd, S.G. (1997). Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. (Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia). P210.
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #1070.16.
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.