Rubus squarrosus Fritsch
(C.J.W., D.R.G.)
leafless lawyer
Liane with slender to stout stems, often ± leafless and forming a low bush of intertwining branchlets in exposed sites; stems terete, hairy when young; armature of short, curved (sometimes almost straight), yellow prickles. Lvs palmate; leaflets 3-(5), glabrous or rarely with scattered hairs on veins, serrate to crenate-serrate; terminal leaflet lamina ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, often lobed or much reduced, often to midrib only, up to 70 × 20-(40) mm, with petiolule (10)-30-200 mm long. Infl. a many-flowered panicle up to 5-(12) cm long. Petals yellowish. Drupelets orange-red.
N.; S.
Endemic.
Lowland to lower montane forest, scrub, talus and cliffs throughout, chiefly in drier areas and commonly around rock outcrops in hill country.
FL Oct-Dec FT Dec-Apr.
This sp. is easily distinguished by the bright yellow prickles on green stems, the often bushy habit and the lvs of non-flowering stems which often have little or no lamina, especially in open habitats.
