They differ from larger shrubby species in the genus in that the only upright part is herbaceous and only lightly speckled with fine hairs (hence the specific epithet "pubescens"), as opposed to the woody stems and larger prickles that cover many other species of Rubus (Johnson et al. 1999).
Rubus | Rubus idaeus | Rubus ursinus | Rubus ulmifolius | Betula pubescens | ''Rubus ursinus'' (''R. vitifolius'') | Rubus armeniacus | red raspberry (''Rubus idaeus'') | Rubus phoenicolasius | Rubus parviflorus | Rubus leucodermis | Rubus laciniatus | Rubus coreanus | Rubus chamaemorus | Oenothera pubescens | Humulus lupulus var. pubescens | Cypripedium pubescens | Coccoloba pubescens | Capsicum pubescens | Acacia pubescens |