Imports of raspberry cane for growing, St. Helena

October 2013. There has been a request from a member of the public in St Helena to import raspberry, Rubus idaeus. Is this likely to be invasive?

The importation requirements for Rubus idaeus into New Zealand are given in the following post-entry quarantine testing manual for Rubus: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/regs/imports/plants/high-value-crops#manuals.

A member from Hawaii wrote: Raspberries (Rubus spp.) are particularly bad invaders both of natural ecosystems and of range lands. Here in Hawai’i the cost of managing invasive Rubus spp. (particularly R. ellipticus, R. argutus, and R. niveus) is far more than the value of fruit produced. They are bird-dispersed and pop up many miles from where they are planted. They are thorny and injurious to livestock and people.