Short description of Rubus spectabilis, Salmonberry

An erect shrub to 4 m, with perennial woody stems, which are spiny below and mostly glabrous above. It has leaves with three ovate leaflets and solitary deep pink flowers 2-3 cm across, giving rise to orange-red fruits, like a raspberry.

Impact summary: Rubus spectabilis, Salmonberry

Can form large stands that exclude other vegetation.

Habitat summary: Rubus spectabilis, Salmonberry

Damp woodland and streamsides, naturalised in similar habitats in GB.

Overview table

Environment	Terrestrial
Species status	Non-Native
Native range	Northern America
Functional type	Land plant
Status in England	Non-Native
Status in Scotland	Non-Native
Status in Wales	Non-Native
Location of first record	v.c.100 (North Sannox)
Date of first record	1874

Origin

West coast of North America from Alaska to California.

First Record

Introduced 1827, in the wild by 1899.

Pathway and Method

Grown for ornament and as game cover, still available from suppliers.

Species Status

Regarded as a weed species in its native range, where it invades pasture and prevents regeneration of forest trees. It is locally naturalised in northern GB and elsewhere in northern Europe. It has been recorded in a total of 407 10km squares in GB up to 2010, of which 127 where recorded between 1970 and 1986 and 301 from 1987 to 1999.

Dispersal Mechanisms

Vigorously suckering to form large patches, also bird-sown.

Reproduction

Reproduces vegetatively and by seed.

Known Predators/Herbivores

Grazed by large herbivores in its native range.

Resistant Stages

In order to germinate, the seed needs warm, followed by cold stratification. They are thick-walled and need mechanical or chemical treatment to break down the wall. The seeds are long-lived in the soil.

Habitat Occupied in GB

Woodland and hedges, persistent in parks and large gardens where it has been planted.

Salmonberry has a patchy distribution in northern GB. It is frequent in northwest England and in central and northeastern Scotland, though this may represent recording practice. It is rare in central and southern England.

Environmental Impact

It forms dense stands that exclude other vegetation, it can invade grassland and the shrub layer of woodland, and compete with conifer seedlings in regenerating woodland.

Health and Social Impact

Salmonberry fruits and shoots have traditionally been eaten by Native Americans as an antidote to disorders caused by eating too much salmon.

Economic Impact

Regarded as damaging to forestry in its native range, but its impact in GB is probably minimal.

Identification

Stace, C.A. (2010) New flora of the British Isles, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Biology, ecology, spread, vectors

Botanical Society of the British Isles (2011). Vascular Plant Atlas Update Project http://www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/ [March 2011].

United States Department of Agriculture Plant Guide. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/doc/cs_rusp.doc [March 2011].

Management and impact

US Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/rubspe/all.html [March 2011].

General

Bean, W.J. (1980) Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, 8th edn. John Murray, London.

Ecological Flora of the British Isles http://www.ecoflora.co.uk/search_species2.php?plant_no=800090060 [March 2011].