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Rubus schmidelioides, commonly called bush lawyer, white leaved lawyer or tataramoa in Maori, is a climbing plant species found commonly in New Zealand. Its hooked branches allow it to climb across the ground and into shrubs and trees. R.schmidelioides fruit are yellow to orange.

Description
Rubus schmidelioides is a dicot liane and is a dense shrub with intertwining branchlets. Its shape is described as mound-like. Rubus schmidelioides ascends its host species utilising small reddish hooks along its stems. The stems are long and tapering and are up to 10 cm in diameter. Rubus schmidelioides is palmately compound, with leaves having a range of 3-5 leaflets. The leaflets are glabrous on the upper surface and rough, however; it is covered in hairs along the underside, with hair colour ranging from white, brown or grey. The leaves are bluntly serrate and often curl downwards. The leaflet tips are pointed, while the base is wider, giving them a oval, oblong or lanceolate shape. Leaflets are commonly 2–6cm long and 2.5–3.5cm wide and the petiolule is on average 10–50mm long. Rubus schmidelioides is inflorescent with flower arrangements varying from compact or panicle, the full flower is usually 10-25cm long. It has five white or cream petals which are usually up to 5–7mm long and have an oval shape. The fruits of R. schmidelioides are aggregate drupelets and are yellowish. Their size is usually 5–7mm long. In juvenile plants leaflets are narrower and more glabrous compared to the mature forms. In open scrubland environments though, mature plants retain their juvenile leaves. This variant is called var. subpauperatus. On the Chatham Islands the leaves of R. schmidelioides are on average larger than leaves from populations on New Zealand. Rubus schmidelioides also has domatia.

Range
Rubus schmidelioides is endemic to New Zealand and the Chatham islands.

Rubus schmidelioides var. schmidelioides and its variant var subpauperartus is found across New Zealand, being distributed in the North and South Islands as well as Stewart Island. Its current conservation status is not threatened.

Habitat
Rubus schmidelioides var. schmidelioides is commonly found in lowland and montane forests while its variant var. subpauperatus can be found in open scrublands or exposes rocky sites. Rubus schmidelioides grows best during the mid-stages of succession when the tree canopies have not grown high. Rubus schmidelioides favors environments with alluvial soils, and appears to be more common in native forests, being found in Totara , podocarp, broadleaf , beech and Kanuka forests.

Life cycle/Phenology
Juvenile R. schmidelioides plants have thicker stems than adults allowing them to stand upright without support from other plants for up to 60cm or slightly more. If, once it has reached this height, there is nothing to climb, the Juvenile plant bends downwards and begins to branch out along the ground, spreading widely across the forest floor. Until it finds support and then climbs up into the forest canopy via shrubs and smaller trees, to help find more support it creates from its stems both on the ground and in the trees searcher shoots which can stand up to several meters tall. Flowering of R. schmidelioides happens in spring and it produces ripe fruit starting in mid-spring on to summer. Rubus schmidelioides has its seeds transported mainly by various bird species which eat its berries.

Diet and foraging
Rubus schmidelioides as it grows best during the mid-stages of forests succession requires high amounts of light to grow. Once grown into the canopy it can get light regardless of how tall the canopy is, but juveniles struggle to grow in areas of low light where the canopy is already established and high. Rubus schmidelioides prefers medium pH soils. Rubus schmidelioides var. schmidelioides is unable to flower in open environments such as scrublands while its variant var. subpauperatus can flower in these environments. The main variant is thus less tolerant to less stable conditions caused by more exposed environments.

Predators, Parasites, and Diseases
There are various invertebrates which feed on R. schmidelioides leaves. A gall mite Acalitus rubensis commonly feeds on R. schmidelioides and a gall mite cause erineum on the underside of the leaflets in the process. The adults of the endemic beetle species Eucolaspis feed on the leaves. Endemic caterpillars of the moth Heterocorssa rubophaga feed in flowers, on fruit and the young shoots of R. schmidelioides and induce gall on the stems. An endemic flat mite species Tenuipalpus rangiorae feed on R. schmidelioides leaves and lay eggs on the surface of the leaflets. The larvae of gall flies, one leaf vein, one stem and petiole gall species and one stem gall species. Inflict galls on the upper side of the leaflets, mid ribs of the leaf and stems respectively. An endemic species of scale insect feeds on R. schmidelioides and causes sooty mold on its leaflets. Rubus schmidelioides is pollinated by the introduced honey bee and the endemic bee Lasioglossum.

Rubus schmidelioides leaflets and fruit are both eaten by possums and leaflets are also browsed by introduced deer species neither have a large impact on R. schmidelioides distribution. Rubus schmidelioides is susceptible to both European blackberry rust and the rust species Kuehneola uredines. Pigeons, kaka, riflemen, brown creeper, grey warbler, fantail and silvereye are all observed to eat R. schmidelioides berries. Scientific studies have shown that in the past R. schmidelioides woody twigs and leaflets were grazed by moa before their extinction.

Trivia
The prickly stems of R. schmidelioides are known to hook onto clothing of people brushing past it