RUBUS ELLIPTICUS (YELLOW HIMALAYAN RASPBERRY)

Rubus Ellipticus is commonly known as Golden Evergreen Raspberry and Yellow Himalayan Raspberry. It is known as "Akhay" in local language of Kotli Sattian.

Rubus Ellipticus is an evergreen shrub producing a cluster of stout, heavily armed, upright, biennial stems from a woody root-stock. It usually grows 100 - 300 cm tall, occasionally up to 450 cm. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth, forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant can rapidly form tall, dense thickets. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The fruit is sold in local markets in the Himalayas. 

Habitats 

Shrubberies and open hillsides, to 2300 metres in the Himalayas. Dry slopes, montane valleys, sparse forests and thickets at elevations of 1000 - 2600 metres.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked,  A good raspberry-like flavor. Sweet with a pleasant blend of acidity. The golden yellow fruit is about 10 mm in diameter.  The fruit contains about 10.9% sugars, 1.1% protein, 0.5% ash, 0.55 pectin. The fruit is a good source of micro nutrients such as anthologists, phenol's, flavoring and vitamin C. They have a moderate to good antioxidant activity and make an excellent, healthful addition to the diet.

Medicinal

The plant is astringent and febrifuge. A decoction of the root, combined with Girardinia diversifolia root and the bark of Lagerstroemia parviflora, is used in the treatment of fevers. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of fevers, gastric troubles, diarrhea and dysentery. The root, combined with the dried fruit of Brucea javanica is given in the treatment of dysentery. A paste of the roots is applied externally to wounds. Both the roots and the young shoots are considered to be a good treatment for colic. The leaf buds, combined with Centella asiatica and Cynodon dactylon, are pounded to a juice and used in the treatment of peptic ulcers. The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of fever, colic, coughs and sore throat. The inner bark is used in Tibetan medicine, it is said to have a sweet and sour flavour plus a heating potency. A renal tonic and antidiuretic, it is used in the treatment of weakening of the senses, vaginal/seminal discharge, polyuria and micturition during sleep.

The Ethnobotanical Profile of Tehsil Kotli Sattian, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Authors: Rahmatullah Qureshi and Humaira Shaheen (Department of Botany, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan)

Book Description:  Kotli Sattian is an extension of the Indo-Himalayan ecological region that falls in the transitional zone of Irano-Saharan ecosystem which extends to the Southwest. This is a very beautiful subdivision of district Rawalpindi (Punjab), Pakistan which is bounded on the Northwest by the Murree Hills and touches the Kashmir territory on the East by bridging the river Jhelum on the Southwest. The evergreen hills with its gentle and steep slopes, the cool, fresh & health giving fountains, the dancing & singing streams, the winding roads & paths that wind through the lively pine woods and the bracing climate beckon the wanderer to this hilly area. The territorial name is derived from the mountain town of Kotli and the Satti tribe. This book is an amazing compilation of the plants used by the Satti tribe for medicine, food, forage, fuel, fiber and a multitude of other things. The authors have spent more than five years and documented more than 200 plant species valued by the inhabitants. This is undoubtedly the most substantial ethnobotanical survey ever undertaken, preserving indigenous knowledge of native flora for the future. This book is a valuable source for botanists, plant taxonomists, anthropologists, ethnobotanists, ethnopharmacologists, ecologists, foresters & range managers, nature lovers and tourists interested in the culture of Satti people and their way of use of native plants.