Bush lawyer (plant)
Encyclopedia
Bush lawyer is a common name of a group of climbing blackberry
plants (subgenus Micranthobatus of the genus Rubus
) that are found in New Zealand
, many of them rampant forest vines. The Māori language
name of the plant is tātarāmoa.
Tātaramoa or bush lawyer has hooked thorns that snag clothing and rip or prick the skin.
The colloquial English name is often said to have been given because once this thorny plant becomes attached to you it will not let you go until it has drawn blood:
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
plants (subgenus Micranthobatus of the genus Rubus
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
) that are found in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, many of them rampant forest vines. The Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
name of the plant is tātarāmoa.
Tātaramoa or bush lawyer has hooked thorns that snag clothing and rip or prick the skin.
The colloquial English name is often said to have been given because once this thorny plant becomes attached to you it will not let you go until it has drawn blood:
- Some overseas trampers might not understand or appreciate the common name of Rubus cissoides, but North Americans certainly do. In New Zealand the thorny vine is best known as bush lawyer. Found throughout the country up to 1000m, the plant has hand-shaped leaves with three to five toothed 'fingers', white flowers and a yellowish-red fruit. The berry is shaped like a small blackberry and was once used by early Europeans to make jams and jellies. But the plant's most noticeable feature is its thorns.
- The backward-pointing prickles on the stems help the vine climb to the open canopy of a forest but also snare unwary trampers who stray from the track. You'll immediately know bush lawyer when you encounter it as the thorns will painfully scrape across your bare thighs or arms, quickly drawing blood. And, like any good American lawyer, once it gets a hold of you, it doesn't let go easily."
External links
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network entry for Rubus australis
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network entry for Rubus cissoides
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network entry for Rubus parvus
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network entry for Rubus schmidelioides var. schmidelioides
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network entry for Rubus squarrosus