Modern classification Rubus is the only genus in the tribe Rubeae.
Rubus is very complex, particularly within the
blackberry/
dewberry subgenus (
Rubus), with polyploidy,
hybridization, and facultative
apomixis apparently all frequently occurring, making species
classification of the great variation in the subgenus one of the grand challenges of
systematic botany. In publications between 1910 and 1914, German botanist
Wilhelm Olbers Focke attempted to organize the genus into 12 subgenera, a classification system that since became widely accepted, though modern genetic studies have found that many of these subgenera are not
monophyletic.
Phylogeny The genus has a likely North American origin,
Rubus expanded into Eurasia, South America, and Oceania during the
Miocene. Many fossil fruits of †
Rubus laticostatus, †
Rubus microspermus and †
Rubus semirotundatus have been extracted from bore hole samples of the
Middle Miocene freshwater deposits in
Nowy Sacz Basin,
West Carpathians,
Poland. Molecular data have backed up classifications based on geography and chromosome number, but following
morphological data, such as the structure of the leaves and stems, do not appear to produce a phylogenetic classification.
Species '' flower leaves and flower leaves and berries leaves and flowers '' prickles '' fruit '' leaf '' flower leaves flower berries '' berry flower '' raspberries leaves and berry '' flowers '' flowers Better-known species of
Rubus include: •
Rubus aboriginum – garden dewberry •
Rubus allegheniensis – Allegheny blackberry •
Rubus arcticus – Arctic raspberry •
Rubus argutus – sawtooth raspberry •
Rubus armeniacus – Himalayan blackberry •
Rubus caesius – European dewberry •
Rubus canadensis – smooth blackberry •
Rubus chamaemorus – cloudberry •
Rubus cockburnianus – white-stemmed bramble •
Rubus coreanus – bokbunja •
Rubus crataegifolius •
Rubus deliciosus •
Rubus domingensis •
Rubus ellipticus •
Rubus flagellaris – northern dewberry •
Rubus fraxinifolius – mountain raspberry •
Rubus glaucus •
Rubus hawaiensis •
Rubus hispidus – swamp dewberry •
Rubus idaeus – red raspberry •
Rubus illecebrosus •
Rubus laciniatus – cut-leaved blackberry •
Rubus leucodermis – whitebark raspberry •
Rubus moluccanus •
Rubus nepalensis •
Rubus nivalis – snow raspberry •
Rubus niveus •
Rubus occidentalis – black raspberry •
Rubus odoratus – purple-flowered raspberry •
Rubus parviflorus – thimbleberry •
Rubus pedatus •
Rubus pensilvanicus – Pennsylvania blackberry •
Rubus phoenicolasius – wineberry •
Rubus probus •
Rubus pubescens – dwarf raspberry •
Rubus rosifolius – roseleaf bramble •
Rubus saxatilis – stone bramble •
Rubus spectabilis – salmonberry •
Rubus tricolor •
Rubus trivialis – Southern dewberry •
Rubus ulmifolius – elm-leaved blackberry •
Rubus ursinus – trailing blackberry •
Rubus vestitus – European blackberry A more complete subdivision is as follows:
Hybrid berries The term "hybrid berry" is often used collectively for those fruits in the genus
Rubus, which have been developed mainly in the U.S. and U.K. in the last 130 years. As
Rubus species readily interbreed and are
apomicts (able to set seed without fertilisation), the parentage of these plants is often highly complex, but is generally agreed to include cultivars of blackberries (
R. ursinus,
R. fruticosus) and raspberries (
R. idaeus). The British National Collection of
Rubus stands at over 200 species, and although not within the scope of the National Collection, also hold many cultivars. The hybrid berries include:- •
loganberry (California, U.S., 1883)
R. ×
loganobaccus, a spontaneous hybrid between
R. ursinus 'Aughinbaugh' and
R. idaeus 'Red Antwerp' •
boysenberry (U.S., 1920s) - a hybrid between
R. idaeus and
R. ×
loganobaccus •
nectarberry - a suspected variant of boysenberry, a hybrid between
R. idaeus and
R. ×
loganobaccus •
olallieberry (U.S., 1930s) - a hybrid between the loganberry and youngberry, themselves both hybrid berries •
veitchberry (Europe, 1930s) - a hybrid between
R. fruticosus and
R. idaeus •
skellyberry (Texas, U.S., 2000s) - a hybrid between
R. invisus and
R. phoenicolasius •
marionberry (1956) - now thought to be a blackberry cultivar
R. 'Marion' •
silvanberry -
R. 'Silvan', a hybrid between
R. 'Marion' and boysenberry •
tayberry (Dundee, Scotland, 1979) - another blackberry/raspberry hybrid •
tummelberry,
R. 'Tummel' - from the same Scottish breeding programme as the tayberry •
hildaberry (1980s) - a tayberry/boysenberry hybrid discovered by an amateur grower •
youngberry - a complex hybrid of raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries
Etymology The generic name means blackberry in
Latin and was derived from the word
ruber, meaning "red". The blackberries, as well as various other
Rubus species with mounding or rambling growth habits, are often called
brambles. However, this name is not used for those like the raspberry that grow as upright canes, or for trailing or prostrate species, such as most dewberries, or various low-growing boreal, arctic, or alpine species. The scientific study of brambles is known as "
batology". "Bramble" comes from Old English
bræmbel, a variant of
bræmel. == See also ==