Rubus chingii

Rubus chingii

The Palm-leaf raspberry (Rubus chingii, Hu) is a shrub species belonging to the Rosaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota Domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Subarign Tracheobionta,
Spermatophyta superdivision,
Magnoliophyta Division,
Magnoliopsida class,
Subclass Rosidae,
Rosales Order,
Rosaceae family,
Subfamily Rosoideae,
Genus Rubus,
R. chingii species.
The term is synonymous:
– Rubus chingii var. suavissimus (S.K.Lee) L.T.Lu .;
– Rubus officinalis Koidz .;
– Rubus suavissimus S.K. Lee;
– Rubus tanakae auct ..

Etymology –
The term Rubus comes from rúbeo being red: a reference to the color of the immature fruits of bramble, raspberry, blackberry.
The specific epithet chingii is in honor of the Chinese botanist Ching Ren-chang (1898-1986).

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Rubus chingii is a plant native to China and, precisely from the southern provinces of Guizhou, Guang Dong and Guangxi, but present in East Asia, Southeast China and Japan.
Its natural habitat is that of evergreen deciduous forests in the hills, coniferous forests, roadsides and groves, between 500 and 1000 m. s.l.m ..

Description –
Rubus chingii is a deciduous shrubby plant that produces every year a cluster of biennial stems from erect to climbing, scarcely thorny; the stems can be 150 – 300 cm long.
The leaves, which are produced only in their first year of growth, are webbed in 5-7 parts, rarely in 6 or 8 parts.
The flowers are 3–5 cm in diameter, with 1.4–2.5 cm petals.
The fruit is a polydrupa, of a more or less intense red color, sub globose, with a diameter of 15 – 20 mm.

Cultivation –
Rubus chingii is a deciduous shrub that is also harvested in its natural state for local use as food or for medicinal use.
The newly grown shoots have enormous vigor and upright posture, reaching a height of up to 300 cm. Due to the enormous growth vigor, fresh shoots are very tolerant to pruning and will sprout again under cutting from each leaf armpit in a short time. The fresh, green shoots have many thorns.
It is a plant that is easy to cultivate provided that clayey soils are available, well drained and exposed to the sun or in partial shade.
Propagation occurs by seed which requires stratification and it is best to sow at the beginning of autumn in a cold seedbed. The stored seed requires a month’s stratification at around 3 ° C and it is best to sow as soon as possible during the year. The transplant in open field must be carried out in the late spring of the following year.
It can also be propagated by agamic way through semi-mature wood cuttings, in the period of mid-summer in a shady area.
Another method of propagation is by division, to be carried out in early spring or just before the leaves fall in autumn.

Customs and Traditions –
Rubus chingii is a plant that has been used for a long time in both food and medicine.
The leaves of this plant are rich in sugar and are used to make sweet tea in southern China.
The leaves are extremely sweet (the molecule underlying the sweetening effect is 200 times sweeter than sugar).
However, there are also native populations of Rubus chingii in Japan that have the same phytosanitary characteristics as those of Chinese origin, but whose leaves have no sweetness.
The high sweetness of the leaves is due to some compounds of the kauranic glycoside group known as rubusosides. The kauranic glycosides also include, for example, the steviosides present in the Stevia rebaudiana plant.
These two glycosides are very similar in their chemical structure and therefore also have similar or identical sweetening power.
The dried fruits of Rubus chingii have been used in ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’ (TCM) since ancient times. In addition to the glycoside rubusoside, the leaves and fruits contain a variety of other bioactive ingredients.
The constituents determined, among others are: gallic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, rubusoside and steviol monoside which were quantified and used in the development of qualitative chromatographic imprints.
Both raw and cooked fruits are consumed for edible use. These, due to their sweetness, are used to make jams, jellies and various drinks, including wine.
This plant, in nature, has a rather high yield, and the sweet and sour fruits, particularly favored by children, are collected and sold in farmers’ markets and used to make wine.
For medicinal use, both the fruits and the roots are used and are used in the treatment of coughs, as a tonic for blood circulation and to reduce swelling.
The leaves are used as a tonic for the elderly.
This plant is one of four species used in Guangxi, China, to produce the tiancha (sweet tea) ethnomedicine. This species is known as Yaoshan-tiancha. The other three species are Lithocarpus polystachyus (Wall.) Rehd. (baise-tiancha); Engelhardia roxburghiana Wall. (guiping-tiancha); and Mycetia sinensis (Hemsl.) Craib (longzhou-tiancha).
Tiancha is mainly used in the treatment of hypertension and diabetes.

Preparation Method –
Rubus chingii is a plant that has been used for some time for both food and medicinal purposes and of which both the fruits, roots and leaves are used.
The dried leaves can then be stored like any commercial tea. It is best to keep them in a place that is not too hot, dry and protected from light. The fruits are consumed both raw and cooked and with these jams, jellies and various drinks and wine are prepared.
The leaves, which as mentioned, are rich in sugar are used to make sweet tea in southern China.
The roots are used in medicinal use, and together with the fruits are used in the treatment of coughs, as a tonic for blood circulation and to reduce swelling.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.
Photo source:
– https://cyberfloralouisiana.com/images/LSUCollections/Vascular/LSU/00/203/LSU00203793_L.JPG

Warning: Pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; therefore no responsibility is taken for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.