Rubus moluccanus
Content
Description
Climbing or scrambling, rarely creeping shrubs.
Leaves ovate to broadly ovate in outline, 6-20 by 4-15 cm, variously lobed, base cordate to subtruncate, margins serrate, apex acute to acuminate, (firm)-herbaceous, nervation pedate with 5-9 pairs of nerves or palmate with 7 main nerves (var. angulosus), venation (widely) reticulate, the surface between the veins not or indistinctly raised above, upper surface hairy, especially on the nerves, lower surface with a densely woven felt of long, thin, curly hairs all over, and with on nerves and veins usually many long, thicker, straight, appressed to patent hairs, distinctly two-coloured.
Stipules early falling, 7-17 by 4-12 mm, pinnatilobed to pinnatipartite with 4-10 pairs of lobes, sometimes digitate, lobes up to 8 by 1 mm, hairy outside.
Inflorescence a terminal, leafy, compound raceme, up to 20(-50) cm long, with up to 12 laterals, those up to 5(-9) cm long and with up to 10(-30) flowers.
Flowers bisexual, flower buds ovoid, pointed.
Sepals erect or apically recurved in anthesis, triangular to ovate, 4-9 by 2-6 mm, apex acute to pointed, not-covered margins of the outer sepals with one or few, up to 3 mm long teeth, covered margins entire, indumentum outside as hypanthium.
Petals long remaining, suborbicular to elliptic, 3-7 by 3-6 mm, apex rounded to emarginate, white, rarely reported to be pink, red, or yellow.
Stamens 30-185, filaments up to c. 4 mm, anthers 0.2-0.7 mm long, mostly with few to several long hairs on top or on connective.
Fruits 2-3 by 1-2 mm when dry, red, mesocarp thick and fleshy, only a thin layer when dry.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka present); Thailand (Thailand present); Vietnam (Vietnam present), Australasia: Queensland (Queensland present), Carolines present, New Caledonia present, New Hebrides present, Pacific: Fiji (Fiji present)
All over Malesia, extending to the North to Sri Lanka (introduced?), Thailand, and Vietnam, to the South and East to Queensland, Carolines, New Hebrides, Fiji, and New Caledonia.
Uses
Information from herbarium labels is reported under the varieties. According to literature [] the species has a number of widespread medicinal uses. The sap of shoots, the chewed leaves or decoctions of roots are obviously effective in relieving internal pains, in the treatment of dysentery or diarrhoea, sprue and angina, and for external afflictions like sores and boils. Several times the use as an emmenagogue (stimulating menstruation) or abortifacient is mentioned, but also applications to prevent miscarriage, which seems a strange combination. Use of the fruits as a remedy for children's bed-wetting was mentioned by Rumphius and later often repeated. It is possible that the medicinal uses recorded for this species also are valid for other species of the genus.
Notes
Rubus moluccanus L. is taken here in the narrowest possible sense. See [] and Focke []. Rubus moluccanus has been considered by Backer [] and by others as a taxonom-ical problem of the same order as presented by R. fruticosus, but incorrectly so. Rubus moluccanus is, if properly delimited from neighbouring but recognizable species, not much more variable than any other widely distributed species. There is no evidence at present for supposing that the species is apogamous.
The species was divided by Kalkman into four varieties, based on leaf characters. Intermediates do occur and inadequately collected material showing — as too often is the case — only the upper leaves of 1 tteral branches, cannot always be identified down to the variety.
The species was divided by Kalkman into four varieties, based on leaf characters. Intermediates do occur and inadequately collected material showing — as too often is the case — only the upper leaves of 1 tteral branches, cannot always be identified down to the variety.