{{Short description|Species of plant in the rose family}} {{Speciesbox | image = Rubus rosifolius1.JPG | image_caption = Wild form | image2 = Flor_blanca.jpg | image2_caption = Double-flowered form | genus = Rubus | parent = Rubus subg. Idaeobatus | species = rosifolius | authority = Sm. | subdivision_ranks = Varieties | subdivision_ref = <ref name="POWO" /> | subdivision = {{Species list |abbreviated=yes | Rubus rosifolius var. inermis | | Rubus rosifolius var. rosifolius | }} | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list | Rubus apoensis | | Rubus chinensis | | Rubus comintanus | | Rubus commersonii | | Rubus coronarius | | Rubus dosedlae | | Rubus eglanteria | | Rubus glandulosopunctatus | | Rubus hopingensis | | Rubus jamaicensis | | Rubus javanicus | | Rubus mingendensis | | Rubus paniculatus | | Rubus parvirosifolius | | Rubus polyphyllarius | | Rubus rosaefolius | | Rubus sikkimensis | | Rubus sinensis | | Rubus tagallus | | Rubus taiwanianus | | Rubus trifoliolatus | }} }} }}
'''''Rubus rosifolius''''' (sometimes spelled ''Rubus rosaefolius'') is a species of prickly subshrub with the common names '''roseleaf bramble''', '''Mauritius raspberry''', '''thimbleberry''', '''Vanuatu raspberry''' and '''bramble of the Cape'''.<ref>{{citation |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=32436 |title=USDA GRIN Taxonomy |access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> Its double-flowered variety is named '''''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''coronarius''''' (synonym: '''''Rubus coronarius''''').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sims |first=John |date=1815 |title=''Rubus rosaefolius'' var. ''coronarius'' |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/14327#page/36/mode/1up |journal=Curtis's Botanical Magazine |volume=43 |pages=t.1783}}</ref>
== Description == Roseleaf bramble is a shrub with straight or arching stems that can reach as much as {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} in height. The stems are covered in long, spreading white hairs with scattered amber-green glands that can be dense in small areas.<ref name="Graham">{{Cite web |last1=Graham |first1=R. A. |date=1960 |title=''RUBUS rosifolius'' Sm. [family ROSACEAE] |url=https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.flora.ftea000926 |website=JSTOR |language=en |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The leaves are compound with toothed margins and glandular-hairs on both sides of the leaflets.
The flowers are white in panicles or solitary.<ref>[http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Rubus~rosifolius PlantNET, ''Rubus rosifolius'' plant profile]</ref> The aggregate fruit is {{Convert|2|cm|abbr=off|frac=8}} long.
==Taxonomy== ''Rubus rosifolius'' was given its scientific name by the botanist James Edward Smith in 1791.<ref name="POWO" /> The unplaced name ''Rubus rosifolius'' published by Jonathan S. Stokes in 1812 is sometimes a source of confusion.<ref>{{cite POWO |id=739816-1 |title=''Rubus rosifolius'' Stokes |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> According to Plants of the World Online it has no accepted subspecies, but has two accepted varieties.<ref name="POWO" /> The autonymic variety has {{table row counter|id=Synonyms}} heterotypic synonyms while ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''inermis'' has none.<ref name="POWO var rosifolius">{{cite POWO |id=77232673-1 |title=''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''rosifolius'' |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite POWO |id=950305-1 |title=''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''inermis'' Z.X.Yu |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="Synonyms" |+ class="nowrap" | Table of Synonyms ! Name ! Year ! Rank ! Notes |- | ''Rubus apoensis'' {{small|Elmer}} | 1913 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus chinensis'' {{small|Ser.}} | 1825 |data-sort-value=A | species | not validly publ. |- | ''Rubus comintanus'' {{small|Blanco}} | 1845 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus commersonii'' {{small|Poir.}} | 1804 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus coronarius'' {{small|(Sims) Sweet}} | 1826 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus dosedlae'' {{small|Gilli}} | 1979 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus eglanteria'' {{small|Tratt.}} | 1823 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus glandulosopunctatus'' {{small|Hayata}} | 1914 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus hirsutus'' var. ''glabellus'' {{small|(Focke) Wuzhi}} | 1979 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus hopingensis'' {{small|Y.C.Liu & F.Y.Lu}} | 1976 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus jamaicensis'' {{small|Blanco}} | 1837 |data-sort-value=A | species | nom. illeg. |- | ''Rubus javanicus'' {{small|Blume}} | 1826 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus mingendensis'' {{small|Gilli}} | 1979 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus paniculatus'' {{small|C.B.Clarke}} | 1876 |data-sort-value=A | species | nom. illeg. |- | ''Rubus parvirosifolius'' {{small|Hayata}} | 1915 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus polyphyllarius'' {{small|(Cardot) Koidz.}} | 1930 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus rosaefolius'' {{small|Sm.}} | 1791 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''commersonii'' {{small|(Poir.) Tirveng.}} | 1981 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' f. ''coronarius'' {{small|(Sims) Focke}} | 1911 |data-sort-value=F | form | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''coronarius'' {{small|Sims}} | 1815 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''hirsutus'' {{small|Hayata}} | 1908 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''intermedius'' {{small|Kuntze}} | 1891 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' f. ''monophyllus'' {{small|Backer}} | 1964 |data-sort-value=F | form | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius normalis'' {{small|Kuntze}} | 1891 |data-sort-value=J | | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' f. ''paucijugus'' {{small|Hallier}} | 1912 |data-sort-value=F | form | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' lusus ''personatus'' {{small|Focke}} | 1914 |data-sort-value=G | sport | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius pleniflorus'' {{small|Makino}} | 1901 |data-sort-value=J | | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''pluriflorus'' {{small|Kuntze}} | 1891 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''polyphyllarius'' {{small|Cardot}} | 1917 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''rubrocarpus'' {{small|Kanjilal, P.C.Kanjilal & Das}} | 1938 |data-sort-value=D | variety | without a Latin descr. |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''sikkimensis'' {{small|Kuntze}} | 1891 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''trilobus'' {{small|Ser.}} | 1825 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''tropicus'' {{small|Maxim.}} | 1872 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus rosifolius'' var. ''wuyishanensis'' {{small|Z.X.Yu}} | 1986 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus sikkimensis'' {{small|Kuntze ex Hook.f.}} | 1878 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus sinensis'' {{small|Sims}} | 1816 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus tagallus'' {{small|Cham. & Schltdl.}} | 1827 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus taiwanianus'' {{small|Matsum.}} | 1902 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- | ''Rubus thunbergii'' var. ''glabellus'' {{small|Focke}} | 1911 |data-sort-value=D | variety | |- | ''Rubus trifoliolatus'' {{small|Suess.}} | 1950 |data-sort-value=A | species | |- |}
== Distribution and habitat == [[File:Market Town - Nice colours - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Vanuatu raspberries (''frombwas'') for sale at Port Vila Market, Vanuatu]] ''Rubus rosifolius'' is native to India, Southeast Asia, and some islands of the western Pacific. It is also widely introduced to areas of Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, and to other Pacific islands.<ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=739800-1 |title=''Rubus rosifolius'' Sm. |access-date=22 July 2025}}</ref>
Its native range extends as far west as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India (where it is found mainly in the northeast in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and West Bengal, but also is native to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the northwest and Tamil Nadu in the south). To the east it is native to all the states of Mainland Southeast Asia except for Singapore. In China, it is mainly found in the southeast, being native to Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, but it is found as far southwest as Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and as far north as Shaanxi. It is also native to the island of Taiwan. It is native to many of the Islands of Indonesia including Borneo and Sulawesi, as well as both halves of New Guinea.<ref name="Hassler">{{Cite web |last1=Hassler |first1=Michael |date=5 July 2025 |title=Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.07 |url= http://www.worldplants.de?name=Rubus-rosifolius |website=World Plants |language=en |access-date=22 July 2025}}</ref>
''Rubus rosifolius'' has become naturalized in eastern Australia and in New Zealand. It has escaped from cultivation or been introduced to many islands including Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti, Moʻorea, Raʻiātea, Rapa Iti, Ascension Island, and St. Helena.<ref name="Hassler" /> It is also found abundantly in the Brazilian states Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, extending as far south as Rio Grande do Sul.<ref name="Lorenzi" />
The species is grows naturally in rainforests and tall open forests.<ref name="Lorenzi">Frutas Brasileiras e Exóticas Cultivadas, Harri Lorenzi et al., Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora, 2006</ref>
== Weed risk == ''Rubus rosifolius'' is an introduced environmental weed in the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico and French Polynesia; extreme caution should be adopted when considering introducing this plant into regions where it is not already native.<ref>{{cite web |last=Randall |first=Rod |title=''Rubus rosifolius'' information from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW) |url=http://www.hear.org/gcw/species/rubus_rosifolius/ |website=www.hear.org}}</ref><ref>''Rubus rosifolius'' plant profile, Plants Database, United States Department of Agriculture [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RURO]</ref>
== Uses == Although rarely cultivated, the plant has several uses. The fruit is sweet and pleasant flavoured when grown with good soil moisture. The fruit is sold at markets in the Himalayas.<ref>Gamble, J. S., ''A Manual of Indian Timbers'', Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1972</ref>
The leaf is used as a medicinal herbal tea for treating diarrhoea, menstrual pains, morning sickness and labour pains.<ref>Low, T., ''Bush Medicine – A Pharmacopoeia of Natural Remedies,'' 1990, {{ISBN|0-207-16462-2}}</ref> The leaf contains essential oils.<ref>Southwell, I., 'The Constituents of ''Rubus rosifolius''. The Structure of Rosifoliol, a Biogenetically Significant Sesquiterpenoid', ''Australian Journal of Chemistry'', 1978, vol. 31(11), pp2527 – 2538 [http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/CH9782527.htm]</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Rubus rosifolius}} * [http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=100293186 Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Cambodia in 2012] * {{PFAF|Rubus rosifolius}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2705473}}
rosifolius Category:Bushfood Category:Flora of Australia Category:Flora of China Category:Flora of Mauritius Category:Flora of New Caledonia Category:Flora of tropical Asia Category:Flora of Vanuatu Category:Fruits originating in Asia Category:Plants described in 1791 Category:Rosales of Australia