Rubus caesius L.

Rubus caesius is a Eurasian species of dewberry, known as the European dewberry. Like other dewberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, related to the blackberry and raspberry. It is widely distributed across much of Eurasia.

Source: Wikipedia

Synonyms 46

Rubus adventitius, Rubus agrestis, Rubus antennifer, Rubus arenarius, Rubus arvinus, Rubus assurgens, Rubus belliatus, Rubus caeruleus, Rubus kolbii, Rubus lajtnensis, Rubus latebrosus, Rubus ligerinus, Rubus mitissimus, Rubus psilophyllus, Rubus pusilliformis, Rubus pusillus, Rubus retrogressus, Rubus rivalis, Rubus sabulosus, Rubus sepium, Rubus spiculatus, Rubus tenuis, Rubus turkestanicus, Selnorition cesius, Rubus apiculatus subsp. arvinus, Rubus apiculatus subsp. viretorum, Rubus caesius subsp. agrestis, Rubus caesius subsp. aquaticus, Rubus caesius subsp. arvalis, Rubus caesius subsp. curvispinus, Rubus caesius subsp. lajtnensis, Rubus caesius subsp. leucosepalus, Rubus caesius subsp. ligerinus, Rubus caesius subsp. perpannosus, Rubus caesius subsp. pusilliformis, Rubus caesius subsp. pusillus, Rubus caesius subsp. raduloides, Rubus caesius subsp. rivalis, Rubus caesius subsp. spiculatus, Rubus caesius subsp. subsericeus, Rubus caesius subsp. transaltaicus, Rubus caesius subsp. turkestanicus, Rubus caesius subsp. villosicaulis, Rubus caesius subsp. viretorum, Rubus caesius subsp. vollmannii, Rubus fruticosus subsp. caesius

444,770 GBIF occurrences
33,188 iNaturalist observations

Conservation status code

Conservation: status label

Least Concern

Conservation: population trend

Stable

Conservation: year assessed

2026

IUCN Red List page

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/203454/209221677

Habitats

IUCN: population narrative

In the United Kingdom, this species has declined in the north and west of its range and in Ireland, it is rare (BSBI/BRC 2024). However, it is common throughout its native and non-native range and is sometimes thought of as a weed.

IUCN: habitat narrative

Dewberry is a dioecious perennial deciduous shrub with prickly stems found in damp habitats such as hedges, woodland borders, scrub and grassland and frequently on sea dunes. It prefers dry to moist basic soil, preferably calcareous and usually over limestone. It hybridises with Rubus fruticosus aggregate, which in some places is more frequent (Blamey and Grey-Wilson 2003, Heukels 2000, BSBI/BRC 2024).

IUCN: threats narrative

The threats to this species are not known. It has suffered declines in the UK, perhaps due to changes in land use management and habitat alteration (BSBI/BRC 2024).

IUCN: conservation narrative

There are no conservation measures in place or needed. It is listed as Near Threatened in Norway (Artsdatabanken 2024) and Least Concern in Denmark (NERI 2007), Estonia (eBiodiversity 2012), Germany (Ludwig and Schnittler 1996), Switzerland (Moser et al. 2002), and the United Kingdom.The species is represented by 30 germplasm accessions held at European institutions (EURISCO 2024) and is included in the living collection of at least 58 botanical gardens (BGCI 2024). It occurs in many protected areas, including Natura 2000 sites (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2024).

IUCN: rationale

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)This species is classified as Least Concern for both Europe and for the EU27 Member States due to its widespread distribution, stable populations and no major threats.

Rubus caesius L.

Related species

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