Giant bramble (Rubus alceifolius)

Also known as: Asian bramble

Giant bramble is a scrambling prickly shrub with white flowers and red fleshy berries. It forms dense thickets that can out compete native plants and restrict movement for people and animals.

Profile

How does this weed affect you?

Giant bramble is a scrambling shrub that:

• outcompetes native plants, especially along edges and in gaps of rainforests
• climbs over trees causing branches to fall in windy conditions  
• grows in pastures reducing productivity
• forms dense thickets that reduce movement of people and animals, including their access to water. 

What does it look like?

Giant bramble is a scrambling, perennial shrub. It grows upright at first and then spreads, often climbing over other plants. 

Leaves are:

• green with scattered hairs on top
• covered in dense brown or yellowish hairs on the underside
• up 15 cm long and 13 cm wide
• lobed with 5-7 shallow lobes
• toothed along the edges
• on stalks up to 7 cm long
• alternate along the stem.

Flowers:

• are white
• have 5 roundish petals up to 9 mm long
• have woolly hairs on the sepals
• are in clusters (of up to 10) at the end of canes
• may be present all year but most common in summer and autumn.

Fruit are:

• fleshy round berries
• red when ripe with small black seeds
• up to 25 mm in diameter
• present late autumn and winter 

Stems are:

• canes up to 5 m long
• rounded or bluntly angled in cross section
• densely covered with hairs
• scattered with hooked prickles up to 4 mm long.

Roots:

• are short and woody
• have fibrous side roots
• shallow.

Similar looking plants

Giant bramble looks similar to:

• Molucca bramble (Rubus moluccanus), which has unlobed or three-lobed leaves. The flowers may be white or pink.
• Keriberry (Rubus rugosus), which has white or pink flowers, and its fruit are black when ripe.

Where is it found?

In NSW one infestation has been found in Coffs Harbour on the North Coast. It has also naturalised in northern and central Queensland. 

Giant bramble is native to south eastern Asia.

What type of environment does it grow in?

Plants grow in humid tropical and sub-tropical climates in partial shade and full sun. They have been found:

• on the edges and in gaps of rainforests
• along roadsides
• in pastures
• in sugarcane
• along creekbanks and gullies.

Maps and records

• Recorded presence of Giant bramble during property inspections (Map: Biosecurity Information System - Weeds, 2017-2024)
  These records are made by authorised officers during property inspections under the Biosecurity Act 2015. Officers record the presence of priority weeds in their council area and provide this to the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Records reflect the presence of the weed on the date of inspection.
  
  

How does it spread?

By seed

Giant bramble does not produce fruit until well into the second year. They can produce large numbers of seeds. Overseas over 10,000 seeds per m2 have been found in the soil. The seeds are viable for several years.

Birds and other animals eat the fruit and spread the seeds in their droppings. Seeds are also spread in flowing water.

By plant parts

The long canes arch over and root where they touch the soil, forming daughter plants. Stems can be spread by people dumping garden waste and flowing water.

References

Baret, S., Bourgeois, T. L., & Strasberg, D. (2005). How does Rubus alceifolius, an exotic invasive species, progressively colonize the whole of a humid tropical forest?. Canadian journal of botany, 83(2), 219-226.

Identic Ptd. Ltd. & Lucid. (2016). Weeds of Australia fact sheet: Rubus alceifolius Poir. Retrieved 27 February 2024 from: https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/rubus_alceifolius.htm

Parker, C. (2012) CABI data sheet: Rubus alceifolius (giant bramble). Retrieved 27 February 2024 from: Rubus alceifolius (giant bramble) | CABI Compendium (cabidigitallibrary.org)

Parsons, W.T., & Cuthbertson, E. G. (2001). Noxious weeds of Australia. CSIRO publishing.

PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Retrieved February 2023 from https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Rubus~alceifolius

Rubus alceifolius (giant bramble) | CABI Compendium (cabidigitallibrary.org) https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.47978 

More information

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Control

Physical

Small plants may be dug out by hand. Wear protective clothing to avoid injuries from the prickles.

Regular slashing before the fruit develop can limit growth.

Chemical control

Spray actively growing plants. Cover all of the foliage with the herbicide mixture. See labels for best time of year to spray.

Herbicide options

See Using herbicides for more information.

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Picloram 100 g/L + Triclopyr 300 g/L + Aminopyralid 8 g/L (Grazon Extra®)
Rate: 500 mL per 100 L of water + BS-1000 (or equivalent) 100 mL per 100 L of water
Comments: Spray Spring to Summer. Respraying may be needed for thick clumps. Additive to contain alcohol alkoxylate(1000g/L) products see label for details.
Withholding period: Where product is used to control woody weeds in pastures there is a restriction of 12 weeks for use of treated pastures for making hay and silage; using hay or other plant material for compost, mulch or mushroom substrate; or using animal waste from animals grazing on treated pastures for compost, mulching, or spreading on pasture/crops.
Herbicide group: 4 (previously group I), Disruptors of plant cell growth (Auxin mimics)
Resistance risk: Moderate

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Triclopyr 300 g/L + Picloram 100 g/L (Various products)
Rate: 500 mL per 100 L of water
Comments: Spray actively growing plants. Thoroughly cover all of the foliage to the point of runoff. Add Apparent Wetter 1000 at 100 mL/100 L of water for best results. Respraying may be necessary especially for thick clumps.
Withholding period: Nil.
Herbicide group: 4 (previously group I), Disruptors of plant cell growth (Auxin mimics)
Resistance risk: Moderate

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Biosecurity duty

The content provided here is for information purposes only and is taken from the Biosecurity Act 2015 and its subordinate legislation, and the Regional Strategic Weed Management Plans (published by each Local Land Services region in NSW). It describes the state and regional priorities for weeds in New South Wales, Australia.

Area	Duty
All of NSW	General Biosecurity Duty All pest plants are regulated with a general biosecurity duty to prevent, eliminate or minimise any biosecurity risk they may pose. Any person who deals with any plant, who knows (or ought to know) of any biosecurity risk, has a duty to ensure the risk is prevented, eliminated or minimised, so far as is reasonably practicable.
North Coast	Regional Recommended Measure* (for Regional Priority - Eradication) Land managers should mitigate the risk of the plant being introduced to their land. Land managers should eradicate the plant from the land and keep the land free of the plant. A person should not deal with the plant, where dealings include but are not limited to buying, selling, growing, moving, carrying or releasing the plant. Notify local control authority if found.
	*To see the Regional Strategic Weeds Management Plans containing demonstrated outcomes that fulfil the general biosecurity duty for this weed click here

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Reviewed 2024