Rubus lasiococcus

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Rubus lasiococcus 9946.JPG

|genus = Rubus

|species = lasiococcus

|authority = A.Gray 1882

|synonyms_ref = [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/rjp-3443 The Plant List, Rubus lasiococcus A.Gray ]

|synonyms = *Comarobatia lasiococca (A.Gray) Greene

}}

Rubus lasiococcus is a North American species of wild blackberry known by the common names roughfruit berry and dwarf bramble.

Description

Rubus lasiococcus is a tangling, prostrate shrub with very slender stolons spreading along the ground and rooting where their nodes come in contact with moist substrate, forming a mat. Some stems grow erect to bear flowers. The leaves are {{Convert|2.5-6.5|cm|frac=4}} wide, each deeply divided into three lobes,{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ |title=Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest |last2=Kuhlmann |first2=Ellen |date=2014 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-263-1 |edition=1st |location=Portland, OR |pages=256}} or compound into three toothed leaflets, borne on a petiole a few cm long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or a pair of flowers with five reflexed sepals and five white petals each up to {{Convert|1|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} long. The fruit is a densely hairy red aggregate about {{Convert|1.3|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} across.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250100436 Flora of North America, Rubus lasiococcus A. Gray, 1882. Roughfruit berry ]

{{gallery|mode=packed

|Rubus lasiococcus 9950.JPG|Leaves

|Rubus lasiococcus 0582.JPG|Flower side view

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Distribution and habitat

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountain forests.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Rubus%20lasiococcus.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map][http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7196 Calflora taxon report, University of California, Rubus lasiococcus A. Gray, rough fruit berry, roughfruit berry ][http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/rubus-lasiococcus Turner Photographics, Rubus lasiococcus - Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest ] includes description, photos, distribution map In the southern half of its range the plant is commonly found in a plant community in the understory of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var. shastensis).[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/publications/plant-assn/TSME03.pdf US Forest Service Plant Communities]

Uses

The berry is edible.

References

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