Rubus leucodermis Douglas ex Torr. & A. Gray
black raspberry (Dwarf Bramble; whitebark raspberry)
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Virginia Skilton     (Photo ID #2426)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Rubus leucodermis
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Rubus leucodermis var. leucodermis

Species Information

General:
Medium shrub, 0.5-2 m tall; stems erect to ascending, some arching back to the ground and sometimes rooting at the tip, armed with short, stiff, somewhat flattened, recurved or sometimes straight prickles, very glaucous.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, pinnately compound; leaflets 3 (to 5), egg-shaped to broadly lanceolate, 2-8 cm long, double-saw-toothed and sometimes lobed, sharp-pointed at the tip, greenish and smooth above, white-woolly beneath, the veins and leaf-stalks prickly; stipules linear, 5 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 2 to 7 stalked flowers in small, open, umbel-like to flat-topped, terminal or sometimes axillary clusters, the stalks woolly and prickly; corollas white, the petals 5, erect, spoon-shaped, 3-5 mm long; calyces woolly and often glandular, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, long-pointy-tipped, bent back, 6-12 mm long; ovaries superior; stamens 70-100.
Fruits:
Drupelets, finely and thinly woolly, in a reddish-purple to black, globe-shaped cluster that falls intact from the dry receptacle (a raspberry), the berries 1-1.2 cm wide.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Rubus leucodermis

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
434 10 1587
Slope Gradient (%)
22 0 120

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

216 3 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
285
Modal BEC Zone Class
CWH

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

CDF(6), CWH(175), ESSF(4), ICH(21), IDF(4), MH(1), PP(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist thickets, rocky slopes, clearings and open forests of the lowland to montane zones; common in SW BC, infrequent in SC and SE BC; S to MT, WY, UT, NV and CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia