134 THE ROSE FAMILY. . - [Rate 7 
pinnate ; leaflets 5 in ha lower leaves, often 3 only in the upper ones, 
ovate or oblong, pointed, coarsely toothed, of a light green above. and 
whitish underneath. Flowers white, in long panicles at the ends of the 
short branches. Petals narrow and short. Fruit red, sometimes white in 
cultivation, usually separating from the receptacle when ripe. 
In woods throughout Europe and Russian Asia. Generally distributed 
over Britain, but perhaps in some localities escaped from cultivation. 7. 
Spring Or early summer. 
2, R.fruticosus, Linn. (fig. 807). Blackberry Rubus, Bramble, 
Blackberry.—Rootstock perennial, without underground creeping shoots ; 
the flowering stems biennial, or of few years’ duration, sometimes nearly 
erect, but more frequently arched, straggling or prostrate, often rooting, 
and forming fresh plants at the extremity, usually armed with prickles, 
either stout and hooked or thin and straight, with stiff hairs, or glandular 
bristles, or a short down, all variously intermingled or occasionally wanting. 
Stipules subulate or linear, inserted a short way up the leafstalk. Leaflets 
rather large and coarse, either 3 or 5, the 2 or 4 lower ones inserted 
together at some distance below the terminal one, ovate, toothed, more or 
less downy, the midribs as well as the stalks usually armed with small 
hooked prickles. Flowers white or pink, in panicles at the ends of the 
branches. Fruit black, or very rarely dull red, not separating readily from 
the receptacle, the calyx usually turned down under it, seldom closing over 
it as in R. cesius. 
In hedges, thickets, woods, and waste places, over nearly the whole of 
Europe, Russian and central Asia, and northern Africa, but not a high 
alpine nor an arctic species. Abundant in Britain. J. summer, com- 
mencing early. It varies considerably, especially in the prickles and hairs, 
and in the shape of the leaflets, and from its propagating so readily by 
its rooting stems, individual variations are often extensively multiplied, 
and acquire an undue importance in the eyes of local observers. The con- 
sequence has been an excessive multiplication of supposed species, both in 
Britain and on the Continent, although scarcely any two writers will be 
found to agree in the characters and limits to be assigned to them. The — 
British Flora (8th edit.) admits 6 species, but for those who adopt a 
further division, short characters are given for 34. Babington’s Manual 
(8th edit.) distinguishes 45. Amongst those which have been observed in 
Britain, the following appear to be the most marked, although even these 
will very frequently be found to pass imperceptibly one into the other. 
a. R. fruticosus communis. Leaflets covered underneath with a close, 
white down. Flowers usually numerous. Chiefly in hedges and thickets. 
b. &. corylifolius. Leaflets green underneath, usually large and broad. 
Flowers not so numerous as in the common variety. In hedges and 
thickets with the common variety, but usually flowering earlier. 
c. R. carpinifolius. Leaflets green underneath, but not so broad, and 
more pointed than in the last, the stems more ‘hairy. Flowers not so 
numerous. Chiefly in woods. 
d. R. glandulosus. Leaflets as in the last variety, or sometimes broader, 
the stems with numerous stiff, glandular hairs mixed in with the prickles. 
More frequent in shady woods than in open thickets. 
e. &, suberectus. Leaflets green, or slightly hoary underneath. Stems 
shorter, and more erect than in the common forms. Flowers usually few, 
