''Rubus durescens'' is a rare British species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the rose family. It is native to England, where the entire global distribution of this bramble is found only within the southern half of the county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. It occurs in hedges, shrubs, wood and heathy areas, and was first described and named in 1892 by the Derbyshire botanist William Richardson Linton. Linton placed an illustration of the plant in gold leaf on the cover of the 1903 version of '' The Flora of Derbyshire'', of which he was the sole author.

Description and distribution

''Rubus durescens'' has deep pink flowers and, according to Linton, "occurs in plenty over an area of some five miles by four to the north and east of Shirley". He recorded the species between

Ambergate Ambergate () is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent. It is about south of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. The village forms part of the Heage and Ambergate ward of ...

and

Whatstandwell Whatstandwell () is a village on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles south of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock and about four miles north of Belper. Whatstandwell r ...

in the north of its range, through Bradley Wood and Duffield in the centre, down to between

Church Broughton Church Broughton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, to the west of Derby. It has a church (St Michael and All Angel's Church, Church Broughton, Saint Michael and All Angels) and a Methodist chapel (1828). Badway Green is a piece of ...

and Sutton on the Hill in the southern part of its range. The 1969 version of ''The Flora of Derbyshire'', by A.R.Clapham, also noted the plant in Bradley Wood as well as near Cross o' th' Hands. The 2015 version of ''The Flora of Derbyshire'' noted that the plant's range had remained unchanged, listing locations at Mugginton Sand Quarry, Nether Heage, Lower Hartshay and Swanwick.

Conservation status

Although many microspecies have no formal conservation status in the UK, Cheffings and Farrell in their 2005 ''Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain'' suggested that all populations of local endemics such as ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

'' should, when found in fewer than five 10 km (6.2 miles) × 10 km squares, be considered as "threatened". As a result, ''Rubus durescens'' is now included on the 2015 ''Derbyshire Vascular Plant Red Data List'' in the category "Nationally Rare".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22285593 durescens Endemic flora of England