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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Blackberry
| image = Blackberry fruits10.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Blackberries on a bush
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Rosoideae]]
| genus = ''[[Rubus]]''
| subgenus = ''Eubatus''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''Rubus fruticosus'' - Common Blackberry<br>
and hundreds more microspecies<br>
(the subgenus also includes the [[dewberry|dewberries]])
}}
The '''blackberry''' is a widespread and well known [[shrub]]; commonly called a [[bramble]] in the eastern U.S. and Europe. (Genus ''[[Rubus]]'', Family [[Rosaceae]]) growing to 3 m (10 ft) and producing a soft-bodied [[fruit]] popular for use in desserts, jams, seedless jellies and sometimes [[wine]]. Several ''[[Rubus]]'' species are called blackberry and since the species easily hybridize, there are many [[cultivars]] with more than one species in their ancestry.
The blackberry has a scrambling habit of dense arching stems carrying short curved very sharp spines (although many thornless/spineless cultivars have been developed), the branches rooting from the node tip when they reach the ground. It is very pervasive, growing at fast daily rates in woods, scrub, hillsides and hedgerows, colonizing large areas in a relatively short time. It will tolerate poor [[soil]], and is an early coloniser of wasteland and building sites. It has [[leaf shape|palmate]] leaves of three to five leaflets with [[flowers]] of white or pink appearing from May to August, ripening to a black or dark purple fruit, the "blackberry."
The blackberry is also the fruit of the blackberry plant. In proper [[botany|botanical]] language, it is not a [[berry]] at all, but instead an [[Fruit#Aggregate fruit|aggregate fruit]] of numerous [[drupe]]lets.
In the photo at the upper right, the early flowers have formed more drupelets than the later ones. This can be a symptom of exhausted reserves in the plant's roots, marginal [[pollinator]] populations, or where a small change in conditions, such as a rainy day or a day too hot for bees to work after early morning, can reduce the number of bee visits/pollen grains delivered to the flower, thus reducing the quality of the fruit. The drupelets only develop around ovules which are fertilized by the male gamete from a pollen grain.
Blackberry blossoms are good [[Northern Nectar Sources for Honeybees|nectar producers]], and large areas of wild blackberries will yield a medium to dark, fruity [[honey]].
[[Image:Rubus fruticosus Luc Viatour.JPG|thumb|Blackberry flower.]]
Superstition in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] holds that blackberries should not be picked after [[15th September]] as the [[devil]] has claimed them, having left a mark on the leaves (in the same way a dog might). There is some value behind this legend, as after this date, wetter and cooler weather often allows the fruit to become infected by various [[mold]]s such as ''[[Botryotinia|Botrytis]]'', which give the fruit an unpleasant flavor and may be toxic. The blackberry is known to contain [[polyphenol antioxidant]]s, naturally occurring [[chemical]]s that can upregulate certain beneficial [[metabolic]] processes in [[mammal]]s. It is not advisable to use or eat blackberries growing close to busy [[road]]s due to the accumulated [[toxin]]s from the [[traffic]]. <ref>
{{citeweb| url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1999/Aug12/research.html | title=From the experts: Don't pull that weed -- you may ruin dinner| accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
The related but smaller European [[dewberry]] (''R. caesius'') can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets.
In some parts of the world, such as in [[Chile]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of North America, some blackberry species, particularly ''Rubus armeniacus'' (syn. ''R. procerus'', 'Himalaya') and ''[[Rubus laciniatus]]'' ('Evergreen') are naturalized and considered an [[invasive species]] and a serious [[weed]].
The blackberry can be reasonably deduced to have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, but there is, in fact, forensic evidence from the find of [[Iron Age]] [[Haraldskær Woman]] that blackberries were consumed 2500 years ago.
===Commercial cultivars===
{{globalize/USA}}
[[image:Black Butte blackberry.jpg|left|thumb|Black Butte blackberry.]]
'''Marion''' (marketed as '''marionberry''') is the most important [[cultivar]] and is from a cross between '''Chehalem''' and '''Olallie''' (commonly called '''olallieberry''') blackberries. It is said to "capture the best attributes of both berries and yields an aromatic bouquet and an intense blackberry flavor" [http://www.oregon-berries.com/cx2/mk04f1a.htm]. [[Olallie]] in turn is a cross between [[loganberry]] and [[youngberry]]. 'Marion', 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie are' just three of the many trailing blackberry cultivars developed by the [[USDA-ARS]] blackberry breeding program in [[Corvallis, Oregon]]. The most recent cultivars released from this program are the thornless cultivars ''Black Diamond'', ''Black Pearl'' and ''Nightfall'' as well as the very early ripening ''Obsidian'' and ''Metolius''. Some of the other cultivars from this program are ''Waldo'', ''Siskiyou'', ''Black Butte'', ''[[Kotata]]'', ''Pacific'' and ''Cascade''. Trailing blackberries are vigorous, crown forming, require a [[Pergola#Trellis|trellis]] for support, and are less cold hardy than the erect or semi-erect blackberries. In addition to the Pacific Northwest of the USA, these types do well in similar climates such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Chile, and the Mediterranean countries.
Eastern, semi-erect blackberries were primarily developed by the [[USDA-ARS]] in [[Beltsville, Maryland]]. The source of thornlessness used in this program came from 'Merton Thornless' which was developed at the John Innes Institute in the United Kingdom. The semi-erect blackberries are thornless, crown forming, incredibly vigorous, and need a trellis for support. Cultivars of this type include the very popular ''Chester Thornless'' as well as ''Triple Crown'', ''Loch Ness'', 'Loch Tay', ''Smoothstem'', ''Hull Thornless'', ''Dirksen Thornless'' and ''Black Satin''. Recently, the cultivar 'Cacanska Bestrna' (also called "Cacak Thornless") has been developed in Serbia and has been planted on many thousands of hectares there.
The [[University of Arkansas]] has been at the center of developing cultivars of erect blackberries. These types are less vigorous than the semi-erect types and produce new canes from root initials (therefore they spread underground like [[raspberries]]). There are both thornless and thorny cultivars from this program, some of the most popular are ''Navaho'', ''Ouachita'', ''Cherokee'', ''Apache'', ''Arapaho'' and ''Kiowa''.
The [[University of Arkansas]] is also responsible for developing the primocane fruiting blackberries. In raspberries, these types are called primocane fruiting, fall fruiting, or everbearing and have been around for some time. Prime-Jim<sup>TM</sup> and Prime-Jan<sup>TM</sup> were released in 2004 and are the first cultivars of primocane fruiting blackberry. They grow much like the other erect cultivars described above, however the canes that emerge in the spring, will flower in mid-summer and fruit in late summer or fall. The fall crop has its highest quality when it ripens in cool climates.
Blackberry production in Mexico has exploded in the past decade. While this industry was initially based on the cultivar 'Brazos' it is now based on 'Tupy'. 'Brazos' was an old erect blackberry cultivar developed in Texas in 1959. 'Tupy' was developed in Brazil and released in the late 1990s. 'Tupy' has the erect blackberry 'Comanche' as one parent, but the other parent is unknown. In order to produce these blackberries in these areas of Mexico where there is no winter chilling to stimulate flower bud development, chemical defoliation and application of growth regulators are used to bring the plants into bloom.
''Illini Hardy'' a semi-erect thorny cultivar introduced by the [[University of Illinois]] is cane hardy in zone 5, where traditionally blackberry production has been problematic, since primocanes often failed to survive the winter.
The blackberry tends to be red in color during its unripe ("green") phase, hence the old expression that "Blackberries are red when they're green."
The blackberry is also a very spiritual plant for the Okiwabi tribe. The Okiwabi believed the this plant was a key into the realm of the spirit world. On many occasions The Okiwabi would cover themselves with the juices the are found in this berry, and then dance around a tribal fire praying for the spirits in the spirit world to come and take them away.
==Additional photos==
{{commons}}
<gallery>
Image:blackberries_in_june.JPG|Blackberry bush in late June in UK
Image:Blackberry fruits05.jpg|Ripening blackberry fruit
Image:Blackberry bush with fruit.jpg|Many ripe blackberries
Image:Spines on blackberry.jpg|Prickles
Image:Blackberry fruit formation 0698.JPG|Pollinated, developing blackberry
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Rubus occidentalis|Black Raspberry]], a North American fruit sometimes confused with blackberries.
* [[Kotata Berry]], Oregon State University hybridized.
*[[Redberry mite]], a common pest of North American blackberry crops.
== External links ==
*[http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pageblackberries.html Ways to Process and Use Blackberries] An Article on historical uses and ways to process blackberries
*[http://www.pollinator.com/blackberry.htm Blackberry Pollination Images]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A7209623 h2g2 article on Blackberries]
*[http://www.uga.edu/fruit/rubus.html Botanical Information]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=RUBUS&display=63 USDA Plants Classification Report]
*[http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct03/berry1003.htm From Idea to Supermarket:The Process of Berry Breeding] Article on berry breeding including pictures of blackberry emasculation and pollination
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:Rubus]]
[[Category:Rosaceae]]
[[Category:Grocer's Encyclopedia]]
[[Category:Invasive species]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Blackberry
| image = Blackberry fruits10.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Blackberries on a bush
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Rosoideae]]
| genus = ''[[Rubus]]''
| subgenus = ''Eubatus''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''Rubus fruticosus'' - Common Blackberry<br>
and hundreds more microspecies<br>
(the subgenus also includes the [[dewberry|dewberries]])
}}
The '''blackberry''' is a widespread and well known [[shrub]]; commonly called a [[bramble]] in the eastern U.S. and Europe. (Genus ''[[Rubus]]'', Family [[Rosaceae]]) growing to 3 m (10 ft) and producing a soft-bodied [[fruit]] popular for use in desserts, jams, seedless jellies and sometimes [[wine]]. Several ''[[Rubus]]'' species are called blackberry and since the species easily hybridize, there are many [[cultivars]] with more than one species in their ancestry.
The blackberry has a scrambling habit of dense arching stems carrying short curved very sharp spines (although many thornless/spineless cultivars have been developed), the branches rooting from the node tip when they reach the ground. It is very pervasive, growing at fast daily rates in woods, scrub, hillsides and hedgerows, colonizing large areas in a relatively short time. It will tolerate poor [[soil]], and is an early coloniser of wasteland and building sites. It has [[leaf shape|palmate]] leaves of three to five leaflets with [[flowers]] of white or pink appearing from May to August, ripening to a black or dark purple fruit, the "blackberry."
The blackberry is also the fruit of the blackberry plant. In proper [[botany|botanical]] language, it is not a [[berry]] at all, but instead an [[Fruit#Aggregate fruit|aggregate fruit]] of numerous [[drupe]]lets.
In the photo at the upper right, the early flowers have formed more drupelets than the later ones. This can be a symptom of exhausted reserves in the plant's roots, marginal [[pollinator]] populations, or where a small change in conditions, such as a rainy day or a day too hot for bees to work after early morning, can reduce the number of bee visits/pollen grains delivered to the flower, thus reducing the quality of the fruit. The drupelets only develop around ovules which are fertilized by the male gamete from a pollen grain.
Blackberry blossoms are good [[Northern Nectar Sources for Honeybees|nectar producers]], and large areas of wild blackberries will yield a medium to dark, fruity [[honey]].
[[Image:Rubus fruticosus Luc Viatour.JPG|thumb|Blackberry flower.]]
Superstition in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] holds that blackberries should not be picked after [[15th September]] as the [[devil]] has claimed them, having left a mark on the leaves (in the same way a dog might). There is some value behind this legend, as after this date, wetter and cooler weather often allows the fruit to become infected by various [[mold]]s such as ''[[Botryotinia|Botrytis]]'', which give the fruit an unpleasant flavor and may be toxic. The blackberry is known to contain [[polyphenol antioxidant]]s, naturally occurring [[chemical]]s that can upregulate certain beneficial [[metabolic]] processes in [[mammal]]s. It is not advisable to use or eat blackberries growing close to busy [[road]]s due to the accumulated [[toxin]]s from the [[traffic]]. <ref>
{{citeweb| url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1999/Aug12/research.html | title=From the experts: Don't pull that weed -- you may ruin dinner| accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
The related but smaller European [[dewberry]] (''R. caesius'') can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets.
In some parts of the world, such as in [[Chile]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of North America, some blackberry species, particularly ''Rubus armeniacus'' (syn. ''R. procerus'', 'Himalaya') and ''[[Rubus laciniatus]]'' ('Evergreen') are naturalized and considered an [[invasive species]] and a serious [[weed]].
The blackberry can be reasonably deduced to have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, but there is, in fact, forensic evidence from the find of [[Iron Age]] [[Haraldskær Woman]] that blackberries were consumed 2500 years ago.
===Commercial cultivars===
{{globalize/USA}}
[[image:Black Butte blackberry.jpg|left|thumb|Black Butte blackberry.]]
'''Marion''' (marketed as '''marionberry''') is the most important [[cultivar]] and is from a cross between '''Chehalem''' and '''Olallie''' (commonly called '''olallieberry''') blackberries. It is said to "capture the best attributes of both berries and yields an aromatic bouquet and an intense blackberry flavor" [http://www.oregon-berries.com/cx2/mk04f1a.htm]. [[Olallie]] in turn is a cross between [[loganberry]] and [[youngberry]]. 'Marion', 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie are' just three of the many trailing blackberry cultivars developed by the [[USDA-ARS]] blackberry breeding program in [[Corvallis, Oregon]]. The most recent cultivars released from this program are the thornless cultivars ''Black Diamond'', ''Black Pearl'' and ''Nightfall'' as well as the very early ripening ''Obsidian'' and ''Metolius''. Some of the other cultivars from this program are ''Waldo'', ''Siskiyou'', ''Black Butte'', ''[[Kotata]]'', ''Pacific'' and ''Cascade''. Trailing blackberries are vigorous, crown forming, require a [[Pergola#Trellis|trellis]] for support, and are less cold hardy than the erect or semi-erect blackberries. In addition to the Pacific Northwest of the USA, these types do well in similar climates such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Chile, and the Mediterranean countries.
Eastern, semi-erect blackberries were primarily developed by the [[USDA-ARS]] in [[Beltsville, Maryland]]. The source of thornlessness used in this program came from 'Merton Thornless' which was developed at the John Innes Institute in the United Kingdom. The semi-erect blackberries are thornless, crown forming, incredibly vigorous, and need a trellis for support. Cultivars of this type include the very popular ''Chester Thornless'' as well as ''Triple Crown'', ''Loch Ness'', 'Loch Tay', ''Smoothstem'', ''Hull Thornless'', ''Dirksen Thornless'' and ''Black Satin''. Recently, the cultivar 'Cacanska Bestrna' (also called "Cacak Thornless") has been developed in Serbia and has been planted on many thousands of hectares there.
The [[University of Arkansas]] has been at the center of developing cultivars of erect blackberries. These types are less vigorous than the semi-erect types and produce new canes from root initials (therefore they spread underground like [[raspberries]]). There are both thornless and thorny cultivars from this program, some of the most popular are ''Navaho'', ''Ouachita'', ''Cherokee'', ''Apache'', ''Arapaho'' and ''Kiowa''.
The [[University of Arkansas]] is also responsible for developing the primocane fruiting blackberries. In raspberries, these types are called primocane fruiting, fall fruiting, or everbearing and have been around for some time. Prime-Jim<sup>TM</sup> and Prime-Jan<sup>TM</sup> were released in 2004 and are the first cultivars of primocane fruiting blackberry. They grow much like the other erect cultivars described above, however the canes that emerge in the spring, will flower in mid-summer and fruit in late summer or fall. The fall crop has its highest quality when it ripens in cool climates.
Blackberry production in Mexico has exploded in the past decade. While this industry was initially based on the cultivar 'Brazos' it is now based on 'Tupy'. 'Brazos' was an old erect blackberry cultivar developed in Texas in 1959. 'Tupy' was developed in Brazil and released in the late 1990s. 'Tupy' has the erect blackberry 'Comanche' as one parent, but the other parent is unknown. In order to produce these blackberries in these areas of Mexico where there is no winter chilling to stimulate flower bud development, chemical defoliation and application of growth regulators are used to bring the plants into bloom.
''Illini Hardy'' a semi-erect thorny cultivar introduced by the [[University of Illinois]] is cane hardy in zone 5, where traditionally blackberry production has been problematic, since primocanes often failed to survive the winter.
The blackberry tends to be red in color during its unripe ("green") phase, hence the old expression that "Blackberries are red when they're green."
The blackberry is also a very spiritual plant for the Okiwabi tribe. The Okiwabi believed the this plant was a key into the realm of the spirit world. On many occasions The Okiwabi would cover themselves with the juices the are found in this berry, and then dance around a tribal fire praying for the spirits in the spirit world to come and take them away.
==Additional photos==
{{commons}}
<gallery>
Image:blackberries_in_june.JPG|Blackberry bush in late June in UK
Image:Blackberry fruits05.jpg|Ripening blackberry fruit
Image:Blackberry bush with fruit.jpg|Many ripe blackberries
Image:Spines on blackberry.jpg|Prickles
Image:Blackberry fruit formation 0698.JPG|Pollinated, developing blackberry
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Rubus occidentalis|Black Raspberry]], a North American fruit sometimes confused with blackberries.
* [[Kotata Berry]], Oregon State University hybridized.
*[[Redberry mite]], a common pest of North American blackberry crops.
== External links ==
*[http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pageblackberries.html Ways to Process and Use Blackberries] An Article on historical uses and ways to process blackberries
*[http://www.pollinator.com/blackberry.htm Blackberry Pollination Images]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A7209623 h2g2 article on Blackberries]
*[http://www.uga.edu/fruit/rubus.html Botanical Information]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=RUBUS&display=63 USDA Plants Classification Report]
*[http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct03/berry1003.htm From Idea to Supermarket:The Process of Berry Breeding] Article on berry breeding including pictures of blackberry emasculation and pollination
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:Rubus]]
[[Category:Rosaceae]]
[[Category:Grocer's Encyclopedia]]
[[Category:Invasive species]]