Brambles (Rubus spp.)

Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Rubus

Rubus is a genus of plant in the Family Rosaceae, Subfamily Rosoideae. These plants have prickles like roses and are often called brambles; this name is most often used for the blackberry and similar fruits that are also of rambling habit, and not used for those like the raspberry that grow as upright canes. Their fruit, called bramble fruit, is an aggregate of drupelets.

Possibly as many as 387 subspecies of Rubus have been described in Britain alone. this is caused by the way that the brambles reproduce.

The brambles chief reproduction method is by Apomixis, in which the plant forms fruit and seeds without the need for fertilisation. Cross pollination between individuals often fails completely or produces malformed fruits in which only afew of the seeds are fertile. This lack of cross pollination creats a situation where each varied species enjoys almost genetic isolation from its neighbours. This genetic isolation is further increased by a vegetative form of reproduction by the stems bending down and where they touch the ground, root and start growing again. Thus creating the loops that trip so many people walking through them. In this way one plant can cover quite a large area with each offspring being a clone of the parent. Unfortunatly the identification of the different species, Batology (from the greek Batos - meaning bramble) is not easy. With criteria such as leaf shape and colour, the shape, number and distribution of the spines on the stems and leaves, the colour of the stems and the presence or absence of glandular hairs. A problem with these characteristics, eg. stem colour, is influenced by environmental and habitat factors such as light and shade or even the age of the stem which can change in maturity.

International Organization for Plant Information Provisional Global Plant Checklist

Phylogeny of Rubus (rosaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region sequences

Subgenus Anoplobatus Rubus odoratus Rubus koehleri Rubus parviflorus Rubus aliceae Rubus aboriginum Rubus deliciosus Rubus neomexicanus Subgenus Chamaebatus Rubus hayata-koidzumii Rubus calycinus Rubus nivalis Rubus pectinellus Subgenus Chamaemorus Rubus chamaemorus Rubus pseudochamaemorus Subgenus Comaropsis Rubus geoides Subgenus Cyclactis Rubus arcticus Rubus saxatilis Rubus fockeanus Rubus humulifolius Rubus lasiococcus Rubus pedatus Rubus xanthocarpus Subgenus Diemenicus Rubus gunnianus Subgenus Dalibardastrum Rubus amphidasys Rubus nepalensis Rubus tricolor Rubus tsangiorum Subgenus Idaeobatus Rubus acuminatissimus Rubus adenophorus Rubus alexeterius Rubus alpestris Rubus amabilis Rubus apetalus Rubus archboldianus Rubus aurantiacus Rubus biflorus Rubus chingii Rubus cockburnianus Rubus columellaris Rubus copelandii Rubus corchorifolius Rubus coreanus Rubus crataegifolius Rubus croceacanthus Rubus ellipticus Rubus eustephanos Rubus flosculosus Rubus fraxinifolius Rubus glabricarpus Rubus grayanus Rubus hawaiensis Rubus hirsutus Rubus hoffmeisterianus Rubus hypargyrus Rubus idaeus Rubus illecebrosus Rubus innominatus Rubus inopertus Rubus irritans Rubus komarovii Rubus lasiostylus Rubus leucodermis Rubus ludwigii Rubus lutescens Rubus macilentus Rubus macraei Rubus mesogaeus Rubus microphyllus Rubus minusculus Rubus niveus Rubus occidentalis Rubus palmatus Rubus parvifolius Rubus peltatus Rubus pentagonus Rubus phoenicolasius Rubus pileatus Rubus pinfaensis Rubus pinnatus Rubus probus Rubus pungens Rubus racemosus Rubus rigidus Rubus rosifolius

Rubus sachalinensis Rubus simplex Rubus spectabilis Rubus stans Rubus strigosus Rubus suavissimus Rubus subornatus Rubus sumatranus Rubus teledapos Rubus thibetanus Rubus trianthus Rubus trifidus Rubus vernus Subgenus Lampobatus Rubus turquinensis Rubus trichomallus Rubus shankii Rubus sapidus Rubus roseus Rubus peruvianus Rubus nubigenus Rubus megalococcus Rubus macvaughianus Rubus irasuensis Rubus imperialis Rubus hondurensis Rubus glaucus Rubus glabratus Rubus giganteus Rubus gachetensis Rubus florulentus Rubus fagifolius Rubus eriocarpus Rubus eggersii Rubus costaricanus Rubus coriaceus Rubus acanthophyllos Rubus choachiensis Rubus bullatus Rubus briareus Rubus bogotensis Rubus betonicifolius Rubus adenotrichos Rubus adenothallus Subgenus Malachobatus Rubus acuminatus Rubus alceifolius Rubus assamensis Rubus bambusarum Rubus buergeri Rubus chroosepalus Rubus chrysophyllus Rubus elongatus Rubus fairholmianus Rubus flagelliflorus Rubus fockei Rubus formosensis Rubus gardnerianus Rubus glomeratus Rubus henryi Rubus hunanensis Rubus ichangensis Rubus irenaeus Rubus kawakamii Rubus lambertianus Rubus lineatus Rubus moluccanus Rubus multibracteatus Rubus paniculatus Rubus parkeri Rubus pseudosieboldii Rubus pyrifolius Rubus rolfei Rubus rugosus Rubus setchuenensis Rubus sieboldii Rubus splendidissimus Rubus swinhoei Rubus tephrodes Rubus tiliaceus Rubus wardii Rubus xanthoneurus Subgenus Micranthobatus Rubus australis Rubus cissoides Rubus parvus Rubus schmidelioides Rubus squarrosus Subgenus Orobatus Rubus loxensis

Subgenus Rubus (syn. subgenus Eubatus) Sections Sect. Allegheniensis Rubus allegheniensis Rubus alumnus Rubus pennus Sect. Arguti Rubus abactus Rubus andrewsianus Rubus argutus Rubus frondosus Rubus orarius Rubus ostryifolius Rubus pensilvanicus Rubus recurvans Sect. Caesii Rubus caesius Sect. Canadenses Rubus canadensis Rubus kennedyanus Sect. Corylifolii Rubus fioniae Rubus tuberculatus Rubus wahlbergii Rubus fabrimontanus Rubus dissimulans Rubus dumetorum Rubus gothicus Rubus camptostachys Rubus adenoleucus Rubus aureolus Rubus babingtonianus Rubus britannicus Rubus conjungens Rubus cyclomorphus Rubus eluxatus Rubus lamprocaulos Rubus mortensenii Rubus nemorosus Rubus seebergensis Sect. Cuneifolii Rubus cuneifolius Sect. Flagellares Rubus arundelanus Rubus biformispinus Rubus deamii Rubus enslenii Rubus flagellaris Sect. Hispidi Rubus hispidus Sect. Rubus (also known as Rubus fruticosus agg.) Rubus bifrons Rubus laciniatus Rubus plicatus Rubus nessensis Rubus ulmifolius Rubus adornatus Rubus adspersus Rubus ammobius Rubus arrhenii Rubus atrichantherus Rubus axillaris Rubus bavaricus Rubus bertramii Rubus braeuckeri Rubus bregutiensis Rubus canescens Rubus cardiophyllus Rubus chloocladus Rubus chlorothyrsos Rubus cimbricus Rubus clusii Rubus conothyrsoides Rubus dasyphyllus Rubus divaricatus Rubus drejeri Rubus egregius Rubus foliosus Rubus fuscus Rubus gelertii Rubus glandithyrsos Rubus godronii Rubus grabowskii Rubus gratus Rubus gremlii Rubus hirtus Rubus infestus Rubus insularis Rubus macrophyllus Rubus micans Rubus montanus

Rubus mucronulatus Rubus pedemontanus Rubus polyanthemus Rubus praecox Rubus pyramidalis Rubus radula Rubus rhamnifolius Rubus rhombifolius Rubus rosaceus Rubus rudis Rubus schlechtendalii Rubus schleicheri Rubus senticosus Rubus slesvicensis Rubus sprengelii Rubus sulcatus Rubus vestitus Rubus vigorosus Rubus vulgaris Rubus acheruntinus Rubus ahenifolius Rubus alterniflorus Rubus amplificatus Rubus anglocandicans Rubus angustifrons Rubus bakerianus Rubus bayeri Rubus bloxamianus Rubus bloxamii Rubus bollei Rubus boraeanus Rubus calvatus Rubus caucasicus Rubus chrysoxylon Rubus cissburiensis Rubus colemannii Rubus concolor Rubus cordifolius Rubus cyri Rubus discolor Rubus diversus Rubus dumnoniensis Rubus echinatoides Rubus echinatus Rubus errabundus Rubus erythrops Rubus fissus Rubus formidabilis Rubus furvicolor Rubus fuscoater Rubus ieri Rubus georgicus Rubus glanduliger Rubus glandulosus Rubus hartmanii Rubus hylophilus Rubus inermis Rubus lamprophyllus Rubus lespinassei Rubus leucostachys Rubus ergii Rubus eianus Rubus linkianus Rubus miszczenkoi Rubus moschus Rubus mulleri Rubus nitidioides Rubus pedatifolius Rubus piceetorum Rubus promachonicus Rubus rubritinctus Rubus sanctus Rubus scheutzii Rubus separinus Rubus septentrionalis Rubus thyrsiflorus Sect. Setosi Rubus glandicaulis Rubus missouricus Rubus notatus Rubus semisetosus Rubus setosus Rubus stipulatus Rubus vermontanus Sect. Ursini Rubus loganobaccus Rubus ursinus Sect. Verotriviales Rubus lucidus Rubus riograndis Rubus trivialis

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