Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Dewberry
Rubus caesius
- Family: Rose Family – Rosaceae
- Height: 0.5–2 m (ca. 1.5–7 ft.)
- Flower: fairly large, regular (actinomorphic). Calyx-lobes five, long-tapered and sharp-pointed, hairy. Petals usu. five, free, spreading, ca. 10 mm (0.4 in.) long, white, with toothed margins. Carpels free, many. Stamens numerous. Flowers borne in racemose clusters.
- Leaves: Alternate. Stalked, usually trifoliolate. Terminal leaflet stalked, lateral ones unequal-sided. All leaflets sharp-pointed, hairy on both sides, toothed, teeth tipped.
- Fruit: An aggregate of drupes, bluish-black with a waxy bloom.
- Habitat: Forest margins, rocky broadleaf woods, waterside thickets, coppices.
- Flowering time: June–September.
The dewberry belongs to the genus Rubus (brambles, blackberries) which is a large and diverse, cosmopolitan group. It is taxonomically difficult as many species hybridise. The brambles are herbs or suckering shrubs. The aerial shoots may also be creeping or scrambling, and are often prickly. The leaves are usually compound or lobed. The fruit is an aggregate of drupes. Some of the species produce economically important berries, and many of these are cultivated.
Like the raspberry, this species has biennial stems. They are arching and branched, bluish, covered with a greyish waxy bloom, and hairless or sparsely pubescent. The dewberry spreads efficiently by runner-like shoots. In the Aland Island, where the dewberry is common, also the rare and protected Rubus pruinosus can be encountered. It has black berries.
The dewberry hybridises with the raspberry (R. idaeus). The hybrids are more erect and pricklier than the dewberry. In addition, the dewberry hybridises with stone bramble (R. saxatilis) resulting in a sparsely prickled, herbaceous plant with broad leaflets. The fruit of the dewberry are edible, but not as tasty as raspberries.
