Rubus spectabilis – salmonberry
Common Name
salmonberry
Family
Rosaceae
Scientific Name
Rubus spectabilis
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
- Medium (M)
- Wet (W)
Soil Nutrient Regime (SNR)
- Rich (R)
Video link
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual © 1973. Reprinted with permission of the University of Washington Press.
Photo Gallery
General / Habitat
- Largely upright shrub, unarmed, up to 4m
- Often in wet areas like stream edges
- Low to subalpine elevations
Key Identifying Characteristics
- Form: Erect, often forms thickets, branches zigzag
- Leaves: Alternate, compound with 3 leaflets (trifoliate), sharply toothed
- Flowers: Magenta, large, borne on short branches in groups of 1-4
- Fruit: Yellow to red raspberries, edible and usually tasty, appear very early in the summer
- Other: Bark is golden-brown and shredding
Lookalikes
- Other 3-leaved Rubus
- Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus)
- trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus)- similar when Rubus spectabilis is small
External References
Sources
Douglas, G.W. et al (Editors). 1998-2002. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Volumes 1 to 8. B.C. Min. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Min. For., Victoria, B.C.
Pojar, J. and A. MacKinnon. 2014. Plants of Coastal British Columbia Including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. B.C. Ministry of Forestry and Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, B.C.