About Rubus ulmifolius Schott
Rubus ulmifolius is a brambly shrub that can reach up to 5 meters (almost 17 feet) in height. Some individuals have spines, while others do not. Its leaves are palmately compound, bearing either 3 or 5 leaflets. Leaflets are green on the upper surface and white on the underside, due to a dense layer of woolly hairs. Flowers are most often pink, and occasionally white. Its fruit is a compound drupe that is dark purple, nearly black in color. In its native range, Rubus ulmifolius occurs across Western Europe, from the Netherlands south to Spain and Portugal, and also grows in Britain, Ireland, and northwest Africa. It has become naturalized in North America, South America, Australasia, and South Africa. In Britain and Ireland, it grows in hedges and woodland edges on calcareous soils. Within subgenus Rubus, Rubus ulmifolius is unique because it undergoes normal sexual reproduction; all other species in this subgenus are facultative apomicts.
