Rubus caesius L.

Spice

Family: ROSACEAE

Genus: Rubus

Catalan common name: Batzer. Esbarzerola. Romaguera de rostoll. Romegueró.

Spanish common name: Parrilla. Zarceta de los rastrojos. zarza macho. Zarza terreña.

Province distribution: Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Eurosiberian

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Phanerophyte.

Habitats: Hedges. Non-saline wetlands (intermittent watercourses, streams, artesian wells, ditches). Humid soils. Bramble patch.

Characteristics: A robust plant that is full of reddish spiny emergences with arced stems. Leaves have 3 folioles, the basal leaves are practically sessile and with the terminal deltoid, at times trilobite. The petals are wrinkled and white in colour. The fruit is a bluish black coloured drupe. The main difference between R. ulmifolius is that the folioles of this later species are green in colour on the face and downy white on the reverse (a R. caesius on both sides).

Observations: This species has been described in many forms and varieties in function of the habitat that it colonizes.