Swamp Dewberry, Bristly dewberry
Rubus hispidus
Family: Rosaceae
What it is like
Rubus hispidus is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 1 m (3ft 3in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects, Apomictic (reproduce by seeds formed without sexual fusion). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.2
Where it is found
Moist or dry open soils, ditches, swales or open woods.
Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota, south to Georgia and Kansas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Fruit - raw or cooked. A sour flavour. They are mainly used in preserves. A reasonable flavour, but it is not worth picking in the presence of better varieties. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The plant has astringent properties. The juice of the plant has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. An infusion of the fruits in warm water has been used as a vermifuge. An infusion of the roots has been used in the treatment of consumption, coughs and fevers.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.
Other
Rating: 3
A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit. A good ground cover plant.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
How it is grown
Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. This species is a blackberry with biennial stems, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock, these stems fruit in their second year and then die. The plant produces apomictic flowers, these produce fruit and viable seed without fertilization, each seedling is a genetic copy of the parent. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.
Propagating it: Seed - requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires one month stratification at about 3°c and is best sown as early as possible in the year. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Ground Cover;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 3-7
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist