Rubus: A fruity array of brambles forms a backbone for easy - care landscaping and winter gardens

摘要

On crisp winter mornings with low - slanting light, the stark stems of Rubus make an arresting sight. This explains why it forms the backbone of so many winter gardens. Rubus, or bramble, is a small genus of around 250 species of low - growing or prostrate shrubs with fruiting biennial stems that are often prickly. The common bramble, Rubus fruticosus, typifies the genus. It is found in open woodland or hedgerows in moist, humus - rich soils and has edible berries and very prickly stems. Rubus growsall over the world in a variety of habitats. The most extreme is the arctic bramble, Rubus arcticus, found in arctic moorland, and cloudberry, Rubus chamaemows, in damp moorlands and upland bogs of the northern hemisphere. Although the genus is most widely grown for its edible fruits - including blackberry, raspberry, dewberry, wineberry, cloudberry and salmon berry - it has beautiful flowers, stems and foliage, all widely valued for their varied seasonal interest.