Rosa rubiginosa
Common name
sweet brier
Synonyms
Rubus eglanteria
Family
Rosaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
ROSRUB
Habitat
Terrestrial. A plant of lowland habitats and sites with high fertility. A plant of tussock land, open sites, river flats, banks and terraces and stream sides. A plant of open, well-drained sites on roadsides, stabilised scree, steep open slopes and lakesides from s.l. to about 1000m a.s.l. The plant is often the dominant woody species, in habitats where it occurs and nearly always grows where other woody plants are rather sparse or absent. Areas at risk form the plant are pasture, low and disturbed forest, gullies and roadsides.
Features
Deciduous, rather erect, sometimes dense shrub 1~3m high, often with suckers; stems mainly erect except in young plants, often with glandular hairs when young, otherwise glabrous; armature of few to numerous, unequal, flattened, moderately curved to strongly falcate prickles and pricklets, and sometimes acicles. Leaves with 2~3 pairs of leaflets; petiole 10~25mm long, finely tomentose and with glandular hairs and scattered pricklets; stipules completely adnate, generally clothed in very short glandular hairs, fringed with numerous small glandular hairs. Lamina of leaflets 12~40 x 8~28mm, broadly elliptic to elliptic-obovate, sometimes suborbicular, dull green and glabrous above, with numerous subsessile, pale glands beneath and with eglandular hairs on veins, sometimes hairs dense on midrib; margins generally 2-serrate, with glandular hairs; base rounded; apex acute or subacute, sometimes rounded. Flowers 1~3, single, 25~40mm diam.; pedicels usu. with many hispid glands. Sepals mainly persistent, lanceolate to ovate, long-acuminate or sometimes with an expanded apical tail, tomentose inside, densely clothed in stiff, spreading glandular hairs outside and on margins; outer sepals pinnatisect with a few linear to narrowly elliptic lobes. Petals 12~20mm long, obovate or cuneiform, pink or deep pink (esp. in bud) except for whitish base. Styles free, slightly exserted, densely hairy or villous. Fruit 12~22 x 10~18mm, broadly ovoid, ellipsoid, urceolate, ellipsoid-obovoid, subglobose or globose, occasionally narrow-ellipsoid, red or orange-red, usu. glabrous except at base, sometimes with dark red hispid glands. (-Webb et. al., 1988)
Similar taxa
A small bush with erect branches. The prickles are scattered and hooked. The prickles often have glandular hairs and bristles. The leaflets are glandular and aromatic giving off the scent of sweet briar (Hilgendorf 1926). A deciduous plant, often has suckers (Webb et. al. 1988). The 5-petalled flower is pink or deep pink and the hip is red or orange-red.
Flowering
November, December, January
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Fruiting
February to May
Life cycle
Perennial. The plant is partially or completely self-fertilised and forms new colonies of shoots through subterranean stem suckers which arise from strong rhizomatous roots. A plant that is able to regrow from suckers. The plant has a high seed output which is dispersed by birds and domestic stock.
Year naturalised
1867
Origin
Europe
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
The plant is intolerant to shade and poor drainage. Fire temporarily reduces the vigour of the bush but encourages regrowth. An unpalatable shrub. Requires high soil fertility (Atkinson 1997).
Etymology
rubiginosa: Rust-coloured