Rubus setosus Bigelow

Rubus setosus Bigel. Fl. Bost. ed. 2. 198. 1824
Stems biennial, at first erect, reclining or decumbent, densely bristly; leaves of the turions 3-5-foliolate; stipules linear or lance-linear, 1-2 cm. long; petioles 4-6 cm. long, densely retrorsebristly; leaflets oblanceolate or obovate, glabrous and green on both sides, shining above, more or less persistent, serrate, with ovate teeth directed forward, abruptly acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, 4-8 cm. long, the median one with a petiolule about 1 cm. long, the rest subsessile; leaves of the floral branches 3-foliolate; petioles only sparingly bristly; leaflets rhombie-oblanceolate, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base; inflorescence terminal, elongate, racemose; bracts oblanceolate; peduncles, pedicels, hypanthium, and calyx more or less glandular-hispid and puberulent; sepals ovate, 3 mm. long, acuminate; petals white, obovate, 5-6 mm. long; fruit hemispheric, red.
Type locality: A swamp near Sudbury, Massachusetts. Distribution: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.

Rubus nigricans Rydb. in Britton, Man. 498. 1901
Rubus hispidus suberectus Peck, Ann. Rep. N. Y. State Mus. 44: 31. 1891. Not R. suberectus
Anders. 1815. Rubus setosus Britton, Bull. Torrey Club. 20: 278. 1893. Not R. selosus Bigel. 1824.
Rubus Groutianus Blanchard, Am. Bot. 10: 108. 1906.
Stems biennial, densely retrorsely bristly and more or less glandular-hispid, at first erect, later often decumbent or ascending, 3-5 dm. high; leaves of the turions 5-foliolate; petioles and petiolules densely bristly, the midveins less densely so; stipules linear-lanceolate to subulate, 1-1.5 cm. long; petioles 3-10 cm. long; leaflets glabrous or nearly so, dark-green and shining above, duller beneath, sharply and somewhat doubly serrate, with lanceolate teeth, oblanceolate, obovate, or the median one ovate, abruptly acuminate at the apex, acute or rounded at the base, 4-10 cm. long, the median one with a petiolule 5-15 mm. long, the outer ones usually subsessile; floral branches 1-3 dm. long; leaves mostly 3-foliolate, on vigorous branches 5-foliolate and similar to those of the. turions, in the inflorescence often unifoliolate; leaflets of the 3-foliolate leaves obovate or obovate-oblanceolate, mostly acute, 4-7 cm. long, the median one short-petioluled, the lateral ones subsessile; inflorescence corymbose or shortracemose, often branched and leafy-bracted below, usually densely glandular-hispid or bristly; sepals ovate, abruptly short-acuminate, puberulent without, tomentose within; petals elliptic or oblong-spatulate, 10-12 mm. long; fruit hemispheric, at first red, but almost black when ripe, about 1 cm. broad; drupelets few, large, glabrous. (R. Groutianus is an almost glandless
form.)
Type locality: Adirondack Mountains, New York.
Distribution: Low ground, from Newfoundland to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Wis-

Rubus aculifer, the thorny dewberry, is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the rose family.

It has been found only in the state of New Hampshire in the northeastern United States.

The genetics of Rubus is extremely complex, so that it is difficult to decide on which groups should be recognized as species. There are many rare species with limited ranges such as this. Further study is suggested to clarify the taxonomy. Some studies have suggested that R. aculifer may have originated as a hybrid between R. allegheniensis and R. setosus.