Rubus fruticosus - Blackberry

The Common Blackberry, known as Rubus fruticosus in Latin, is also called the Bramble. This versatile shrub is famous for its long and particularly thorny branches, as well as for its delicious fruits, which turn black when ripe. The blackberry's foliage is deciduous and prickly, and it often feeds several types of caterpillar. Its delicate pink summer flowering is attractive to bees. Its impenetrable vegetation provides shelter for game and habitat for small native fauna, while protecting the seedlings of large trees. Despite its usefulness for biodiversity, it should be kept in mind that we are dealing with a particularly robust and conquering pioneer plant that will spontaneously establish and self-seed in gardens of all sizes, without being invited.

The blackberry belongs to the genus Rubus, which originates from the mountains of the Caucasus in Asia Minor. The genus has diversified over time and has given rise to several subgenera, including the raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and the blackberry (Rubus fruticosus). Distributed throughout Eurasia, the blackberry grows at up to 1600m (5250ft) altitude. It is considered invasive, colonizing hedges, forest edges, fallows, fields, and the bases of old collapsed walls... This plant willingly settles near human habitats and animal breeding sites, wherever waste and excrement are abandoned. Birds often spread the blackberry through their droppings. In Europe and America, wild blackberries have been consumed for about 2000 years.

Perfectly hardy and very easy to cultivate, the blackberry thrives in ordinary soil, preferably fertile, well-drained, and moist. It is a fast-growing perennial with a bushy, scrubby habit, and its stump produces long angular branches covered in sharp prickles. The branches can reach up to 6-7m (20-23ft) in length, and the stump can occupy 80cm (32in) of space on the ground. The foliage is deciduous and falls in autumn. It is a matte green colour, rough to the touch, composed of lobed and toothed leaves with visible veins and tiny prickles on the veins. The stems only live to bear fruit (1 to 2 years) and are replaced over time by suckers emerging from the stump. The prolonged, abundant, and nectar-rich flowering displays numerous small pale pink flowers, 1.5cm (1in) in diameter, grouped in clusters. It occurs from late June to August-September.

The fruits that form, the blackberries, are composed of compound drupes attached to the receptacle. They are small, red at first, then turn black and shiny when ripe. They should be picked when fully black, from August to late September depending on the region. They are then sweet, fragrant, and deliciously flavorful. The fruits can be eaten fresh after picking, used in jellies, jams, on tarts, or even in sorbets, syrups, and juices. They can be easily preserved in the freezer.