Rubus rosifolius, (sometimes spelled Rubus rosaefolius), also known as roseleaf bramble, Mauritius raspberry, thimbleberry,Vanuatu raspberry and bramble of the Cape[3] is a prickly subshrub native to rainforest and tall open forest of the Himalayas, East Asia, and eastern Australia. Its double-flowered variety is named Rubus rosifolius var. coronarius (synonym: Rubus coronarius).[4]
Rose-leaf bramble leaves are compound with toothed margins, with glandular-hairs on both sides of leaflets. Flowers are white in panicles or solitary.[6] Edible fruit are 2 cm long.
Leaves stay green and fruits ripen in early autumn in Eastern Australia.
Uses
Although R. rosifolius is rarely cultivated, the plant has several uses. The fruit is sweet and pleasant flavoured when grown with good soil moisture. The fruit is also sold at markets in the Himalayas.[7]
Rubus rosifolius is an introduced environmental weed in the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico and French Polynesia, and extreme caution should be adopted when considering introducing this plant into regions where it is not already native.[10][11]
^Gamble, J. S., A Manual of Indian Timbers, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1972
^Low, T., Bush Medicine – A Pharmacopoeia of Natural Remedies, 1990, ISBN0-207-16462-2
^Southwell, I., 'The Constituents of Rubus rosifolius. The Structure of Rosifoliol, a Biogenetically Significant Sesquiterpenoid',
Australian Journal of Chemistry, 1978, vol. 31(11), pp2527 – 2538 [1]
