The scope of this study was to identify the different developmental stages of Rubus alceifolius and determine one or several characteristic morphological markers for each stage. Our developmental reconstitution method involves a detailed description of many individuals throughout their different growth stages, from the germination stage to the development of an adult shoot capable of fruiting. The results revealed that R. alceifolius passes through five developmental stages which can be distinguished by changes in several morphological markers such as internode length and diameter, pith diameter, plant shape. This analysis indicated that R. alceifolius has a heteroblastic developmental pattern, midway between a bush and a liana. Moreover, the results showed that this species taps the resources of the environment at the beginning of its developmental, i.e. high foliarization (the foliar component overrides the caulinary component) and an autotrophic stage is rapidly reached, whilst it explores the environment at the adult stage, i.e. substantial axialization (the caulinary component overrides the foliar component) and autotrophy at a later stage. The identified morphological markers could be useful to land-use managers for controlling this species before it reaches its optimum developmental stage.
