Scrambling or procumbent semi-deciduous shrub; stems sometimes arching, 1–2 m long, angular, often sulcate, pruinose, purplish, glabrous to glabrescent, developing a white scaly covering with age, or densely greyish-tomentose; prickles more or less equal, straight or falcate, mainly on the angles, to c. 12 mm long. Leaves 3- or 5-foliate; leaflets elliptic, obovate or oblanceolate, mostly 3–8 cm long, 1–4 cm wide, base cuneate to cordate, margins sharply toothed, upper surface green, glabrescent, lower surface white-tomentose, pilose hairs sparse or absent; stipules linear, pilose. Flowers in terminal, narrowly cylindrical racemes; axis and peduncles tomentose and sparsely pilose, eglandular. Sepals white-tomentose, usually unarmed, reflexed in fruit; petals ovate to suborbicular, crumpled, pink or white; stamens more or less equal to styles. Fruiting head more or less globose, c. 15 mm diam.; fruit glabrescent, black, not falling from receptacle when ripe. Flowers summer.
Wim, VVP, VRiv, MuF, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, DunT, EGL, EGU, HSF, HNF, Strz, VAlp. Also naturalised in WA, SA, NSW. Widespread in continental Europe, extending to north-west Africa. Known from scattered occurrences in Victoria. Usually found in moist riparian or other mesic environments.
Rubus ulmifolius has been re-circumscribed since the previous Flora of Victoria account (see Monasterio-Huelin & Weber 1996; Evans et al. 2007). This species now includes plants with sparse pilose hairs on leaf undersurfaces. Such plants were previously treated as hybrids involving Rubus ulmifolius. In Europe this species is known to hybridise with other related taxa, and it has been assumed that many of the unusual forms in Australia are hybrids involving this species (Evans et al. 2007). However, most of these suspected hybrids in Australia are now included within the range of variation of R. ulmifolius, Rubus anglocandicans or Rubus leucostachys.
