User:Kkruan/Rubus spectabilis

 *Note: underlined parts are edited/added by me 

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Rubus spectabilis, the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus Rubus, the salmonberry plant bears edible fruit, typically yellow-orange or red in color, resembling raspberries in appearance.

A similar species from Japan, the red-flowered raspberry (ベニバナイチゴ) was once considered a subspecies as R. spectabilis subsp. vernus. It is now reclassified as Rubus vernus.

Description
Rubus spectabilis is a deciduous, rhizomatous shrub growing to 1-4 m tall, with perennial (not biennial) woody stems that are covered with fine prickles, especially on new growth. The plant has golden or yellowish brown erect or arching stems (also known as "canes") that often form thickets, like many other brambles in the genus Rubus. The leaves are alternate, trifoliate (with three leaflets), 7-22 cm long and t ypically ovate in shape , with the terminal leaflet being larger than the two side leaflets, which are sometimes shallowly lobed. The margins of the leaflets are doubly serrate. The leaves are also stipulate and are smooth to slightly hairy on the top surface, compared to the underside, which are typically more pale and hairy.

The flowers are 2-3 cm in diameter, with a calyx of five hairy sepals and five pinkish-purple petals; they are produced from early spring to early summer, either singly or in clusters of 2 or 3. The flowers are perfect (bisexual), containing 75–100 stamens and many individual pistils with superior ovaries.

The berries ripen from early May to late July in most of the Pacific Northwest (later in cooler climates), and resemble large shiny yellow to orange-red raspberries, 1.5-2 cm long. However, botanically speaking, the salmonberry is not a true berry, but instead an aggregate fruit made of many smaller drupelets. The fruits of the salmonberry plant exhibit polymorphism, as berries are often either red in color or a yellow-orange color. Studies have found that although both red and yellow-orange morphs have similar physical qualities, the red berries are more commonly consumed by birds, although this is likely not a strong enough selective pressure to determine color morph distribution alone; factors such as soil type (which affects germination), along with other unstudied factors are more likely responsible for the color polymorphism.

In the wild, the fruit are typically eaten by birds, bears, and small mammals, among others, while the leaves, twigs, and stems are grazed on by herbivores such as deer, elk, and rabbits. Populations of dense thicket growth can provide escape habitats for small animals, as well as nesting sites for birds.

Salmonberries are typically found in coastal areas with nitrogen-rich soils, in moist to wet forests and streambanks, increasing in abundance in areas of high rainfall and decreasing in abundance at higher elevations and continentality. Ecologically speaking, salmonberry is often dominant and fast-growing in early-seral communities, and declines in abundance as the canopy begins to form. In open areas they often form large thickets, and are found to associate with stands of red alder (Alnus rubra), lady fern (Athyrium filix­femina), western skunk cabbage (Lysichitum americanum), devil's club (Oplopanax horridus), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), and threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata).

Cultivation and uses
Salmonberries are edible and share the fruit structure of the raspberry, with the fruit pulling away from its receptacle, which differentiates it from blackberries. The fruit has been referred to as "insipid", but depending on ripeness and site, they are good eaten raw – whether red or golden – and when processed into jam, candy, jelly and wine. Native American people and early explorers also ate the young shoots. The shoots were harvested during April to early June before they turned woody and tough, peeled, then steamed, boiled, or pit-cooked, and eaten (or less commonly, eaten raw). Traditionally, the berries and sprouts were also eaten with salmon or mixed with oolichan grease or salmon roe. They were not dried because of their high moisture content.

Other uses by Native Americans include:


 * Boiling the leaves with fish as a flavoring (by the Nuu-chah-nulth people)
 * Using the leaves to line baskets, wipe fish, and cover cooking pits (by the Kaigani Haida people)
 * Using the branches as a pipe stem (by the Makah people)
 * Chewing and spitting the leaves (or bark in the winter) onto a burn as a treatment due to their astringent qualities (by the Quileute people)
 * Boiling the bark in seawater to create a brew to clean infected wounds (especially burns) as well as reduce labor pains (by the Quinault people)

It is also widely grown as an ornamental plant for its flowers, with a double-flowered clone identified in Washington and British Columbia. R. spectabilis has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in parts of northwestern Europe, including Great Britain, Ireland and the Faroe Islands.