Rubus discolor, Weihe & Nees

41. R. discolor Weihe & Nees View in CoL , Rubi Germ. 30 (1824)

(R. procerus P. J. Mueller, R. armeniacus Focke, R. karstianus Borbas, R. macrostemon Focke, R. praecox subsp. macrostemon (Focke) Hayek ).

Stems tall, robust, light brown to purple, arching, angled, sparsely hairy at first, glabrescent, glaucescent; prickles sparse, strong, broad-based, straight or falcate. Leaflets 5, large, glabrescent above, white-tomentose or pubescent beneath; terminal leaflet ovate or suborbicular, shortly acuminate, twice as long as its petiolule, truncate at base; basal leaflets shortly petiolulate; stipules with sparse sessile glands. Inflorescence large, pyramidal-truncate, lax, floriferous, leafy, the axis villous, with numerous falcate or geniculate prickles; flowers c. 3 cm in diameter. Sepals deflexed after flowering, tomentose, hairy, unarmed; petals ovate to orbicular, pale pink or white; stamens white or pale pink, much exceeding the green styles; anthers pubescent; pollen sterile; carpels slightly pubescent, receptacle pubescent. Fruit very large. S., W. & C. Europe. Au Be Bu Cz Ga Ge He Ho Hu It Ju Lu Rm Tu [Br Da].

A vigorous variant (the so-called Himalayan blackberry) is often cultivated in gardens and more or less naturalized. Related species include:

R. geniculatus Kaltenb. , FI. Aachen. Beck. 2: 267 (1844). Be Br Cz Ga Ge He Ho Rm.

R. hebetatus Sudre , Bull. Soc. Étud. Sci. Angers 31: 83 (1902). Au Ga Hs.