Blackberry

Larger Black Butte blackberry

Widespread and well known shrub (Continental Europe) growing to 3m (10ft) producing a soft bodied fruit popular for making jams and sometimes wine. A very variable species composed of many sub-species[?], scrambling habit of dense arching stems carrying short curved very sharp spines, the branches rooting from the node tip when they reach the ground. Very pervasive, growing at fast daily rates in woods, scrub, hillsides and hedgerows, colonising large areas in a relatively short time. It will tolerate poor soil, and is an early coloniser of wasteland and building sites. Palmate[?] leaves of 3 - 5 leaflets with flowers of white or pink appearing from May to August, ripening to a black or dark purple fruit, 'blackberries'.

Superstition (in the UK) holds that blackberries should not be picked after September 15th as the devil has claimed them having left a mark on the leaves. Related to the smaller R. caesius which produces a white waxy coating on the fruits. It is not advisable to use or eat Blackberries growing close to roadsides due to the accumulated toxins (lead Etc.) from the traffic.