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Wineberry

Rubus phoenicolasius Rose Family (Rosaceae) Deciduous Shrub Flowers: Jun Fruits: Jul–Aug Native Range: China, Korea, Japan

Introduction: in the 1890s to improve breeding stock of commercial berries. Mid-Atlantic Range & Habitats: Widespread throughout the region in moist to mesic soil in open forests, forest edges, wetland edges, thickets, grasslands, roadsides and shale banks.

Ecological Impacts

Wineberry fruit appears to be eaten by many of the same wildlife species that consume native brambles. Birds feeding on the fruit are capable of spreading it to new sites. Wineberry can grow under a wide variety of light conditions, including shade, and will readily invade mid-successional forest. The dense thickets it forms exclude native vegetation. In one study,Wineberry had higher rates of self-pollination and fruiting (and greater fruit set) than the native bramble Rubus argutus growing at the same site.

Quick ID

  • Leaves: Underside covered in dense matted, WHITE, wooly hairs
  • Branches: Branches, petioles, and sepals densely shaggy with long, glandular, purplish-red hairs
  • Fruits: Orange-red fruits

More ID Tips

Two common native bramble species that are frequently found growing withWineberry are Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) and Common Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis). In addition to the characters above, the large egg-shaped terminal leaflet with a short, tapering, pointed tip differentiates Wineberry from these two native species. Black Raspberry leaflets are strongly whitened beneath, but the stems are also whitened or glaucous, while the stems of Wineberry are covered in red hairs. The fruits of Wineberry remain enveloped by the sepals until it has ripening, unlike the fruits of black raspberry, which are never enclosed by the sepals.