Rubus ulmifolius Schott
R. discolor Weihe & Nees
Eng.: Elm-leaved bramble, elm-leaf blackberry, thornless blackberry. Spa.: Zarza, zarzamora. Fre.: Ronce à feuilles d’orme. Ara.: allaïq, lendj, tut ez zerub, areq hamar, (the fruit): tut el khela. Tam.: akhlij,anejjil, achdiri, achdir, anchfal, iajel, astif, üllig, leudj, ahalij, amarhar, amodar, cherremu, chermu, serua, sermu, aseddir, (the fruit): tabgha, tabra, haberha.
Shrub, evergreen, hermaphrodite, spinescent, up to 2(3) m in height, although stems can be longer than 5 m. Stems can be ± climbing or creeping. In the latter case, when they touch the ground they can root in autumn and give rise to new plants, thus forming impenetrable prickly thickets over the years. Turion stems or branches usually very long, canaliculate, with strong hooked prickles (all equal or subequal), glabrous or slightly hairy, glaucous, green or red. Leaves alternate, compound, with 3-5 leaflets (3-12 cm long; the terminal leaflet is usually the largest), ovate, obovate or elliptic, acute or obtuse, acuminate, with cuneiform or rounded, serrated margin, glabrous, intense green on the upper side, whitish-tomentose on the underside. Rachis and petiole well developed, with some prickles, greenish or reddish. Inflorescence in a terminal raceme, long and narrow consisting of small panicles. Flower 2-3 cm in diameter. Calyx with 5 sepals, about 5 mm long, oval-acuminate, whitish-tomentose. Corolla with 5 petals, about 8-10 mm, suborbicular, slightly dentate at the apex, white-pinkish to purplish. Stamens and carpels very numerous. Fruit subglobulose (1.2 cm), composed of tiny spherical drupes, monospermous, densely grouped, first greenish-yellow, then red and finally black.
Flowering:
May to July.
Fruiting:
August to October.
Habitat:
Forests, thickets, rocky outcrops, etc. In semiarid (then only in shady places or near water) to humid bioclimate, on inframediterranean to mesomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Mediterranean region, central Europe and Canary Islands. In North Africa it is common in the Mediterranean region of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It has also been cited in Libya and Egypt but the species present in these areas seems to be R. sanctus.
Observations:
Another similar species to R. ulmifolius is R. sanctus Schreb. (incl. R. cyrenaicae Hruby, R. mussolinii Hruby and R. pampaninii Hruby) (Ara.: Tout shouki, olleiqa), with simple and stellate hairs on branchlets and leaves (R. ulmifolius only has simple hairs), villous anthers and white or pinkish petals. It flowers in April to May. It is a climber species, growing in humid ravines with some nitrification. In North Africa, it grows very localised in Libya, around the Derna River (NE side of the Akhdar Massif) and in Egypt (in the mountains of S Sinai Peninsula). Species accepted in the The Plant List and ISFAN, for some authors R. sanctus would be only a variety of R. ulmifolius or a hybrid of R. ulmifolius with R. tomentosus Borkh. (synonym of R. canescens DC.).
Conservation status:
Common species, even locally abundant, not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Indeterminate”.
Legend:
Rubus ulmifolius Rubus sanctus