The Japanese wineberry is a strikingly attractive bramble, with a strong upright growth habit and tall canes densely covered in bristly red hairs (phoenicolasius – from the Latin ‘with purple hairs’). The ripe fruit look like small, shiny raspberries but are a bit firmer, juicier, and tangier – not quite as sweet, but with its own unique appeal.
The plants are hardy and ornamental and the fruit, which ripens in mid-late summer, is a refreshing change
