The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Hi, can anyone help me identify this one please. It came from a small tree in otari. I expect its quite easy as it is trifoliate, toothed and has sharp barbs on the underside of the leaves and petiole but I haven't seen it before. My son named it hook fang after unwisely grabbing it.

Hi Rhys,
It looks like your son grab (and was grabbed in turn by) a species of Rubus, probably Rubus cissoides. There are many native species of these hooked lianes from the same family as rasberry, commonly referred to as bush lawyer. The fruit are edible, but flowering usually occurs on the edges or canopy of other trees where there is more light, and birds often get the ripe fruit before people.

I'm afraid the fact sheet on our website has not been completed yet, but you can see more images here: http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=1263

Jesse is correct - this is Rubus cissoides - the southern North Island race of it.

Thanks Jesse and Peter, thats very helpful

And I have been shamed into doing a Fact Sheet for this species. See: http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=1263

Peter, you do an awesome job! Can't instantaneously produce fact sheets for every species on NZPCN, but thank you for doing this one so quickly

Praise! And on a Monday too! Thank you very much - we can all do with this from time to time.