About Rubus fruticosus L.
Rubus fruticosus L. is an ambiguous scientific name for a European blackberry belonging to the genus Rubus, which is part of the rose family. The name has been interpreted in multiple distinct ways: It may refer to the species represented by the type specimen of Rubus fruticosus L., which is also the type specimen for the entire genus Rubus. This specimen is currently considered to match the species Rubus plicatus, placed in Rubus subgenus Rubus, section Rubus. It may also refer to various species that align with Carl Linnaeus' original description of the species, which was assembled from a mixture of specimens now classified as Rubus ulmifolius and R. plicatus. Most commonly, it is used as the name for a species aggregate (a group of similar closely related species), called Rubus fruticosus agg. — this is a nomen ambiguum, or ambiguous name. The composition of this species aggregate varies by interpretation: it may include most or (rarely) all of the group known as Rubus subgenus Rubus, or less often Rubus section Rubus sensu latissimo. In a narrow sense, the aggregate is sometimes restricted to the section Glandulosus (also called subsection Hiemales); under this interpretation, the aggregate does not include the type of the genus Rubus. In a broader sense, the aggregate may include (1a) sections Glandulosus and Rubus sensu stricto — in non-British classification systems, these two sections are grouped together as section Rubus sensu lato, with Glandulosus renamed as subsection Hiemales and Rubus sensu stricto renamed as subsection Rubus; or (1b) most species from these two sections; or (2) sections Glandulosus, Rubus sensu stricto, and Corylifolii. Section Rubus sensu stricto is thought to consist of hybrids between members of section Glandulosus and either R. idaeus or R. allegheniensis. Section Corylifolii is thought to consist of hybrids between members of section Glandulosus and R. caesius. In the broadest interpretation, the name Rubus fruticosus L. includes all taxa classified within the subgenus Rubus.
