Preservation of cultivar purity is a particular challenge for plants that are self-incompatible, and have easily germinating seeds and vigorously spreading rhizomes. Kostamo et al. develop and test molecular and morphological identification methods for arctic bramble, Rubus arcticus. They find that the best morphological parameters are the length-to-width ratio of the middle leaflet and leaf margin serration. A particular characteristic, fingertip touch, is shown by electron microscopy to be related to the density and quality of the leaf hairs. Red raspberry (R. idaeus) SSR marker no. 126 is useful for differentiation of the eight arctic bramble cultivars tested. These identification methods are critical to secure the maintenance and management of R. arcticus, and the approaches adopted are equally applicable to other species with similar biology.