Graham Lavender & Rob Randall

Rubus nepalensis (Hook. f) Kuntze: a previously unrecorded Bramble in the UK

GRAHAM LAVENDER & ROB RANDALL

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the first record in the UK for Rubus nepalensis in the wild; a prostrate Bramble without prickles or acicles and attributable to subgenus Dalibardastrum, which currently has only one entry, Rubus tricolor (Stace, 2019).

Rubus nepalensis is distinguished from Rubus tricolor by its lighter trifoliate leaves, abundant purplish stem bristles and entire stipules. Rubus tricolor is a more robust plant with simple leaves, which are usually darker green, reddish brown bristles and laciniate stipules.

Rubus nepalensis was found on the east bank of Hawknest Combe stream under oak canopy, covering some 6 × 4 square metres with a maximum height of around 20 cm. Hawknest Combe stream is narrow and fast flowing, located in the steep coastal woods above Porlock Weir on Exmoor, Somerset (SS866472; v.c.5). Vouchers were taken for Taunton Herbarium (TTN) and identification was made by Rob Randall, BSBI Rubus referee.

Rubus nepalensis was first described by Kuntze in 1879. The Flora of India suggests that the holotype is at Kew Herbarium (K); however Kew in personal communication is unable to confirm if its specimen is the holotype. Kew has two specimens collected by J.D. Hooker in 1879 under the name Rubus nutans var. nepalensis (e.g. see www.kew.org/herbcatimg/339743.jpg).

A search of the literature also found a number of synonyms, including Rubus nutantifolius in the United States National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution (US). Vernacular names include Nepalese Raspberry and Himalayan Creeping Bramble. It was also noted that the Royal Horticultural Society lists six suppliers of Rubus nepalensis as a ground cover plant so it may have been originally planted or, given its relatively remote location in dense woodland, more likely bird-sown from a planted colony nearby. It is also possible, given that rhododendrons are known to have been introduced to the area from Nepal in the 1940s, that it may have been accidentally introduced with them.

Currently Rubus nepalensis is not in the DDb although a request has been made and the purpose of this article is to seek out further records of this potentially invasive Bramble.

References

Stace, C.A. 2019. New Flora of the British Isles (4th edn).

C & M Floristics, Middlewood Green, Suffolk. Kuntze, O., 1879. Methodik Der Speciesbeschreibung Und Rubus:

Monographie Der Einfachblattrigen Und Krautigen Brombeeren

Verbunden Mit Betrachtungen Uber Die Fehler Der. A. Felix,

Leipzig.

Graham Lavender

grahamlavender@hotmail.com

Rob Randall

rob.randall@brlsi.org

Rubus nepalensis at Hawknest Combe, Somerset (v.c. 5). Graham Lavender