Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Rubus phaeocarpus

Common name

Blackberry

Family

Rosaceae

Where found

Oberon and east and south from Oberon along the western edge of Kanangra Boyd National Park.

Notes

Spreading shrub, not high arching. Forms dense thickets. Prickles to 8 mm long, and pricklets, on stems (not confined to the stem angles) and sepals. Leaf margins sharply toothed. Fruit fleshy. Stems bluntly angled, with tufted  and glandular hairs. Leaves alternating up the stems, compound, with 3 or 5 leaflets, or with only 1 leaflet on the stems that produce flowers. Terminal leaflets 5–10.5 cm long, 30–65 mm wide. Flowers pale pink or white, with 5 petals each 8–11 mm long, not crumpled. Flowers in cylindrical to pyramidal clusters. Axis of the flower clusters hairy with dense erect hairs together with scattered glandular hairs. Flowering early. Fruit more or less round, initially green, ripening red, maturing black.

One of the species in the Rubus fruticosus species aggregate.

A Weed of National Significance. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions all NSW. Pest plant ACT. Noxious weed Vic.

Description based on that in:  Evans, K.J., Symon, D.E., Whalen, M.A., Hosking, J.R., Barker, R.M. & Oliver, J.A. (2007), Systematics of the Rubus fruticosus aggregate (Rosaceae) and other exotic Rubus taxa in Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 20: 226, Figs 19, 31