Family:
Rosaceae Juss.
Genus:
Rubus L.

Rubus apetalus Poir.

This species is accepted, and its native range is Nigeria to Eritrea and S. Africa, W. Indian Ocean, N. Yemen.

[FTEA]

Rosaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1960

Morphology General Habit
A scrambling shrub.
Morphology Branches
Flowering branches densely and softly white- or yellowish-pilose, sometimes villous, the hairs largely spreading; prickles slender, hooked or straightly deflexed, up to 4–5 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves imparipinnate (2–(3–)-jugate) or trifoliolate, or the uppermost simple; leaflets rather variable in shape, commonly lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or oblong-elliptic, 6.5–9 × 4–6 cm., rather obtuse or the upper ones usually very acute, basally rounded to subcordate, sharply but shallowly serrate or biserrate with teeth ± 1(–2) mm. deep, dark green and variably hairy above (often rather evenly but thinly covered with appressed hairs), paler beneath, and softly pilose or more usually grey- or greenish- or whitish-tomentose, sometimes thickly covered with soft, whitish or ± fulvous hairs; terminal petiolules 1–2(–3) cm. long; the lateral ones up to 7 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence paniculate, narrowly to broadly pyramidal, up to 21 × 9 cm., the basal branchlets spreading at a wide angle or ± horizontally; flowers rather congested; axis, branchlets and pedicels whitish-tomentose interspersed with variably numerous, fulvous or pale fulvous, stiff hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals O [or very small, (fide Focke)].
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5–8 mm. long, deeply divided into lanceolate, ± clasping lobes 4–7 mm. long with a protracted apex, hairy as the pedicels.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Carpels
Carpels varying from glabrous to densely hairy (and sometimes with a dense apical tuft).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit black.
Habitat
Edges of upland rain-forest, upland bushlands, thickets, roadsides; 1275–2100 m.
Distribution
K3 K4 K5 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 U2 U3 U4 also in the Mascarene Islands and possibly in Nigeria.

[FZ]

Rosaceae, E. J. Mendes. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit
Scrambling shrub to c. 1·5 m. high.
Morphology Branches
Flowering branches sparsely villous, brownish, with few to many decurved brownish-yellow prickles 2–5 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 7–16 x 5·5–13 cm., 2–3-jugate or the uppermost ternate; petiole and rhachis villous and aculeate like the stems; lateral leaflets subsessile, terminal one with petiolule 1–2 cm. long.
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets ovate-acute or elliptic-acute, with finely to coarsely serrate margin; superior surface brownish-green, thinly appressed-pilose; inferior surface pale brownish-green, villous on main veins and pilose between, or whitish-velutinous, the midrib very sparsely and minutely prickly, the lateral veins without prickles.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules narrowly linear.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal and axillary, 3–19 cm. long, broadly pyramidal to cylindrical, usually much longer than leaves, the branches spreading, villous and aculeate like the stem.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx greyish-tomentose, divided into narrowly triangular segments 4–6 mm. long, ± clasping in fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals almost always absent, when present narrow, shorter than sepals, fugacious.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits globose, 0·5–0·8 cm. long, purplish-black and edible when ripe; carpels relatively few (15–36), glabrous or rarely tomentose at the apex.

Native to:

Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Réunion, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Rubus apetalus Poir. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jan 1, 1983 Pappi, A. [293], Eritrea K000310001 Unknown type material Yes
May 21, 1957 Schimper [867], Ethiopia K000310011 isotype Yes
May 21, 1957 Schimper [867], Ethiopia K000310012 isotype Yes
Tweedie, E.M. [2466], Kenya 30507.000 No
Kenya 779.000 No
Schimper [867], Ethiopia K000310009 isotype Yes
Boivin, M. [1437], France K000737699 isotype Yes

First published in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl. 6: 242 (1804)

Accepted by

  • Bosser, J. & al. (eds.) (1997). Flore des Mascareignes 81-89: 1. IRD Éditions, MSIRI, RBG-Kew, Paris.
  • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Graham, R.A. (1960). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Rosaceae: 1-61.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1989 publ. 1990). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 3: 1-659. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
  • Launert, E. (ed.) (1978). Flora Zambesiaca 4: 1-658. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Miller, A.G. & Cope, T.A. (1996). Flora of the Arabian peninsula and Socotra 1: 1-586. Edinburgh university press.
  • Robyns, W. & al. (eds.) (1948-1963). Flore du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi 1-10.
  • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1978). Flora du Rwanda 1: 1-413. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Bosser, J. & al. (eds.) (1997). Flore des Mascareignes 81-89: 1. IRD Éditions, MSIRI, RBG-Kew, Paris.
  • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1989 publ. 1990). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 3: 1-659. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
  • Launert, E. (ed.) (1978). Flora Zambesiaca 4: 1-658. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Robyns, W. & al. (eds.) (1948-1963). Flore du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi 1-10.
  • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1978). Flora du Rwanda 1: 1-413. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • C. E. Gust. in Arkiv Bot. 26 (7): 53 (1934)
  • C. E. Gust. in Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Kew 1938: 180–1 (1938).
  • Focke in Bibl. Bot. 72: 176, fig. 72 (1911).
  • Hauman, Flore du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi, 3: 26 (1952).
  • Keay in Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 426 (1958).
  • Oliv. in Flora of Tropical Africa 2: 374 (1871).
  • Poir., Encycl. 6: 242 (1804).

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0