Rubus schmidelioides var. subpauperatus

Detailed description

Much-branched dioecious vine with stems up to 10 m or more long when growing through supporting vegetation or forming sprawling bushes with interlacing branchlets when exposed. Young branchlets terete, up to 40 mm diameter; pubescent, becoming glabrous with age, armed (often heavily so); armature comprised of small, reddish prickles. Stipules minute, caducous, linear to linear-filiform. Leaves of adults ternate or palmate, petioles 20-50 mm long, covered in prickles; lamina of adult leaflets 20-50 × 5-10 mm, coriaceous, lanceolate, to narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, acute to subacute, rounded to oblique at base, margins coarsely and often unevenly serrate, adaxially dark green to bronze-green, more or less glossy, glabrous or almost glabrous, rugose to bullate, veins distinct (these often minutely pubescent), abaxially pale green, sometimes glaucous, usually finely, densely tomentose, tomentum grey-white to brown, veins prominent below, pubescent, midrib heavily; petiolules 3-5(-20 mm long). Inflorescence a much-branched panicle up to 100 mm long (rarely reduced to few-flowered racemes), branchlets and pedicels unarmed, more or less finely pubescent. Flowers white to cream, usually densely aggregate, on pedicels 5-10 mm long. Sepals 2-6 mm long, ovate-oblong to broad-ovate, pubescent; petals 5, 4-7 mm long, ovate to broadly ovate. Male flowers with numerous stamens, ovary absent or rudimentary. Female flowers with rudimentary stamen, carpels numerous. Fruits 5-9 mm diameter, druplets 8-12 (or more), yellow or orange. Endocarp ‘seed’ 1.9-2.5 mm long, dorsally ridged 2x.