Rubus rosifolius Sm., Rosaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: kong xin pao

English: Mauritius raspberry, roseleaf raspberry, thimbleberry

French: framboise, framboise marron, framboise pays, framboisier

Hawaiian: ākala, ākalakala, ōla‘a

Spanish: frambueso de Africa

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Erect to trailing shrub up to 2 m or more in height.  Stems pilose, sparsely covered with prickles 1-4 mm long.  Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, 7-18 cm long, with 3-7 leaflets, leaflet blades ovate to lanceolate, 1.5-8 x 0.8-3.5 cm, acuminate to acute at the apex, rounded to truncate at the base; surfaces pilose to nearly glabrous; margins doubly serrate; stipules filiform, 6-10 mm long.  Inflorescence mostly of solitary, terminal or axillary flowers on a pedicel 0.5-3 cm long.  Calyx of 5 lanceolate sepals 1.4-2.5 cm long, tomentose, apex long-attenuate.  Corolla of 5 white, obovate petals 1-2 cm long.  Stamens many, free.  Ovaries many.  Fruit a subglobose, red, multiple fruit 2-3.5 cm long, easily detaching from the receptacle" (Whistler, 1995; p. 123).

"Shrubs or subshrubs; stems erect, arching, or trailing, 10-20 dm long, moderately to sparsely pilose, sparsely covered with recurved prickles 1-4 mm long with elongate bases.  Leaves pinnately compound, leaflets 7 or sometimes only 5 in upper leaves, broadly lanceolate, 1.5-8 cm long, (0.6-) 1-3 cm wide, the terminal one slightly larger, sparsely pilose to glabrate and also sometimes glandular-dotted, margins doubly serrate, petiolules 0.1-0.3 cm long, rachis, petiolules, and petioles pilose, rachis and petioles also usually covered with small recurved prickles, stipules filiform, 0.6-0.8 cm long.  Flowers solitary or sometimes 2-3, terminal or axillary; sepals lanceolate, 8-15 mm long, both surfaces finely tomentose, apex long-attenuate; petals white, obovate, 10-20 mm long.  Fruit red at maturity, subglobose, 2-3.5 cm long, easily deciduous from the receptacle"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1110).

Habitat/ecology:  "Although roseleaf raspberry invades forest understories in some habitats, it is moderately shade intolerant, requiring partial sun to flower and fruit; it does best in full sun. Preferred habitats include natural and artificial openings in primary and secondary forest, such as tree-fall gaps, landslides, abandoned fields, neglected pastures, and roadsides. Roseleaf raspberry has a high moisture requirement, which usually means more than 1800 mm of mean annual precipitation and no severe annual droughts. The species usually grows at moderate to high elevations.  A variety of well drained to poorly-drained soils are colonized"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

Invades understory of moist forests. Grows to 2,200 m elevation in Tahiti (Meyer, 2000; p. 93). In Hawai‘i, "a common weed in disturbed mesic to wet forest, 60-1,730 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1110). "A nuisance in pastures and natural areas, where it displaces desirable plants and interferes with passage and use of the land"  (Motooka et al., 2003).  In New Caledonia, "cultivé à Koé en 1883; maintenant très commun près des pistes forestières sur schistes" (MacKee, 1994; p. 122).

Propagation:  Fruits spread by birds and rodents. "Stems root (layer) whenever they come in contact with the soil, which helps it fill in newly colonized habitat"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

Native range:  Asia, Australia.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 41051) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 39604) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 228) Voucher cited: Florence 2213
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 2213 (PAP), J. Florence 7819 (PAP) Naturalisée, menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 493058) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosaefolius Sm.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1986) (voucher ID: BISH 544427) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosaefolius Sm.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 228) Voucher cited: Fosberg & Sachet 63144
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 3504 (PAP), J. Florence 8862 (PAP) Naturalisée, Menace pour la biodiversité
French Polynesia Society Islands	Taha‘a Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 129)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 93) Wet habitats 50-2200 m.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 228) Vouchers cited: Forence 2535, BRY 25767, BRY 26004
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2535 (PAP) Naturalisée. Menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 554455) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosaefolius Sm.
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rapa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 6243 (PAP) Naturalisée, Menace pour la biodiversité.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1110)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 100) "Forestry trails, gaps"
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 382) Très commune près des pistes forestières sur schistes.
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) (p. 96)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 122) Vouchers cited: Sarasin 230 (Z), Däniker 657 (Z), Buchholz 1307, MacDaniels 2122, MacKee 3692, MacKee 31113
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 173152) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius Sm.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 581995) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius Sm.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1983) (voucher ID: PTBG 28441) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 202) Lacking in the lowlands; always at a height of 300 m or more.
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 55)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 230) In thickets and forests at low and medium altitudes, ascending in some regions to 1,900 m.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) (p. 96)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 106)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 406080) Taxon name on voucher: Rubus rosifolius Sm.
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) (p. 96)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Mixed forests, grassy slopes, roadsides, landslides. Low to medium elevations".
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 128)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. (1991) (pp. 51-61)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Naturalisé/±envahissant"
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Baret, Stephane/Rouget, Mathieu/Richardson, David M./Lavergne, Christophe/Egoh, Benis/Dupont, Joel/Strasberg, Dominique (2006) (p. 758)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2010) Envahissant principalement dans les milieux perturbés.

Comments:  Very invasive in French Polynesia (Meyer, 2000; p. 93).

Control: 

Physical: Isolated plants may be grubbed out, but any remaining roots will sprout.

Chemical:  "Sensitive to triclopyr ester in water and very sensitive to triclopyr ester in a crop oil carrier, each applied by the drizzle method at 1 lb/acre.  HAVO staff reported control with foliar application of either glyphosate at 1% product or triclopyr ester at 1% product in water (Chris Zimmer, HAVO)"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:
Excerpt from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Fact sheet from "Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories: thamnic descriptions" (PDF format).

Additional online information about Rubus rosifolius is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Rubus rosifolius as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Rubus rosifolius may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Baret, Stephane/Rouget, Mathieu/Richardson, David M./Lavergne, Christophe/Egoh, Benis/Dupont, Joel/Strasberg, Dominique. 2006. Current distribution and potential extent of the most invasive alien plant species on La Réunion (Indian Ocean, Mascarene islands). Austral Ecology (2006) 31, 747-758.

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1958. Voucher specimen #BISH 173152 (Barrau, J. 576).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 406080 (collector unknown 1075).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1981. Voucher specimen #BISH 493058 (Florence, J. 2213).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1981. Voucher specimen #BISH 581995 (Stone, B.C.M. 14766).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 554455 (Florence, J. 2535).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1986. Voucher specimen #BISH 544427 (Florence, J. 7819).

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Délégation à l'Environnement/Délégation à Recherche. 2001. Les plantes envahissantes en Polynésie Française. French Polynesia. 2 p. folder.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Foreman, D. B. 1971. A check list of the vascular plants of Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Botany Bulletin No. 5. Division of Botany, Department of Forests. Lae, New Guinea. 194 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Francis, John K., ed. 2009. Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions General Technical Report IITF-WB-1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry and Shrub Sciences Laboratory (online resource).

Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe. 1996. Conséquences des introductions d'espèces animales et végétales sur la biodiversité en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 51:375-401.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. 1991. Effects of alien plant invasions on native vegetation remnants on La Reunion (Mascarenes Islands, Indian Ocean). Environmental Conservation 18 (1):51-61.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Motooka, Philip/Castro, Luisa/Nelson, Duane/Nagai, Guy/Ching, Lincoln. 2003. Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 184 pp.

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1995. Wayside Plants of the Islands. Isle Botanica, Honolulu. 202 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).