Odd Rubus

[Tiggrx]

I found this clump of Rubus on Hampstead Heath today and it has totally stumped me. It looks almost exactly like a Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) but has pink flowers. It was also rather tall being >6ft - within the range that Raspberry can reach, but still impressive. To give an idea of scale in the pic, each sepal is just over 1cm.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks
Aaron

[KeenTeen17]

Blimey Tiggrx. You've chosen a hard subject there. I can't help at this moment in time but I'll ask a few experts I know who specialise in brambles and see what they think

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

Blimey Tiggrx. You've chosen a hard subject there. I can't help at this moment in time but I'll ask a few experts I know who specialise in brambles and see what they think

Thanks. I thought you needed a challenge

[ceterach]

Aaron

Reminds me of Korean Raspberry (R.coreanus). I bought it years ago when there was a fashion for odd fruit, they were awful. Check it out.

All the best

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by ceterach

Aaron

Reminds me of Korean Raspberry (R.coreanus). I bought it years ago when there was a fashion for odd fruit, they were awful. Check it out.

All the best

Thanks Ceterach

I've just had a search online and this does look possible. Some pictures from a google search look nothing like it and some look sort of like it. I did find quite a detailed description and it fits it reasonably well, but not exactly. I'm not really convinced.

[ceterach]

As I remember it, the foliage was rather dainty compared to Raspberry but the stems were very tall. The flowers were similar to your picture.

Wait for the fruit and if they are awful you know what it is

All the best

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by ceterach

Wait for the fruit and if they are awful you know what it is

I shan't try and root the specimen I took then

[KeenTeen17]

I showed your photo to the experts on a wildflower walk tonight and they also came up with Korean Rasberry.

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

I showed your photo to the experts on a wildflower walk tonight and they also came up with Korean Rasberry.

Thanks, it's looking more likely then.

[davidbr]

According to Alien Plants of the British Isles, there's some doubt whether material identified as Rubus coreanus in Britain really is that species, which could explain discrepancies in the online photos - I've never seen the plant, and the best picture I could get on Google Image has white flowers

My first thought when I saw your photos was Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis; the leaves certainly seem a good match and it does have pink flowers, but they're seemingly usually larger than your ones. Having checked all the species listed in Alien Flora, though, it's still the closest I can get