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Rubus parviflorus Nutt.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rubus parviflorus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rubus/rubus-parviflorus/). Accessed 2024-04-19.

Genus

Common Names

  • Thimbleberry

Synonyms

  • R. nutkanus Moçino ex Ser.

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
glandular
Bearing glands.
lobe
Division of a leaf or other object. lobed Bearing lobes.
simple
(of a leaf) Unlobed or undivided.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rubus parviflorus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rubus/rubus-parviflorus/). Accessed 2024-04-19.

Rubus parviflorus

Rubus parviflorus is widely distributed in the American West (Washington Park, Seattle; 2nd June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

A vigorous deciduous shrub, up to 8 ft high, with erect, unarmed stems, and peeling bark; young shoots downy and slightly glandular. Leaves simple, five-lobed, vine-like, 4 to 8 (or more) in. across, irregularly toothed, downy on both sides especially beneath; leaf-stalk 2 to 5 in. long, set with glandular hairs. Flowers pure white, 11⁄2 to 2 in. across, borne three to ten in terminal clusters during June, and continuing for several weeks; the flower-stalk is glandular-hairy and the calyx is very downy, each lobe contracted at the apex into a short tail. Fruits large, hemispherical and flattened, red; said to be sometimes pleasantly flavoured in the wild. Bot. Mag., t. 3453.

Native of N. America and N. Mexico; introduced by Douglas in 1827. Very similar in its growth and foliage to R. odoratus, but easily distinguished by its white flowers in smaller clusters; the shoots, too, are not so conspicuously downy and glandular, and are darker coloured. Like that species it forms, when left to itself in good soil, dense thickets, which should be overhauled every winter and the worn-out stems cut out. Easily increased by pulling old plants to pieces. Fruits ripen most seasons from the earliest flowers, but are insipid and worthless in this country.

Rubus parviflorus

In higher rainfall areas Rubus parviflorus makes tall, dense clumps of scarcely branched stems in the understorey (Clatsop Co., Oregon; 12th June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

Rubus parviflorus

In drier climates Rubus parviflorus makes a low growing shrub (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; 13th August 2011). Image Julian Sutton.

Rubus parviflorus

Close up on the white flower of Rubus parviflorus, which is one of the largest of all the species of the genus, which makes its species epithet particularly inappropriate. Garden of the photographer, Oisquercq, Belgium. 28 May 2021. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Rubus parviflorus

Rubus parviflorus is very similar to Rubus odoratus, but easily distinguished by its white flowers in smaller clusters. Garden of the photographer, Oisquercq, Belgium. 28 May 2021. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Rubus parviflorus

Rubus parviflorus has large white flowers, over several weeks (Clatsop Co., Oregon; 12th June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

Rubus parviflorus

The flower-stalk of Rubus parviflorus is glandular-hairy, and the calyx is very downy, giving an additional feature after flowering. Garden of the photographer, Oisquercq, Belgium. 28 May 2021. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Rubus parviflorus

The pinkish-red fruits of Rubus parviflorus are large, hemispherical and flattened. A shrub isolated on grass in the fruticetum of Meise Botanical Garden (number 19810988), Belgium. 17 June 2011. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Rubus parviflorus

The insipid but colourful fruits of Rubus parviflorus inspire the name Thimbleberry (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; 13th August 2011). Image Julian Sutton.

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