Blackberry Rubus pensilvanicus
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called Blackberry:
- Phonetic Spelling
- ROO-bus pen-sil-VAN-eh-kus
- Description
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Pennsylvania blackberry is a native perennial shrub in the Rose family. This plant is moderately resistant to damage from deer and provides excellent cover year-round for wildlife. Butterflies and other insects are attracted to the blooms. Its fruits are eaten by songbirds, small mammals, foxes, raccoons, and black bears. During the winter, birds and small mammals eat the seeds left from rotted fruit. White-tailed deer and rabbits browse the leaves. Pennsylvania blackberry is often found in woodland openings and edges, savannas, thickets, weedy meadows, and fence rows.
Pennsylvania blackberry can grow to ten feet tall, forming arching woody canes. It is found naturally along roadsides, thickets, and in woodlands. Second-year canes die down after bearing fruit, but they often start new canes vegetatively when their tips touch the ground. The root system is woody and branching. Loose colonies of plants are often formed from vegetative propagation of the canes. Stout prickles occur along the sides of the canes; these prickles are usually curved, rather than straight. The plant prefers full or partial sun, moist to dry-mesic conditions, and soil containing loam, clay-loam, or some rocky material. The size of the fruit depends on the amount of precipitation during the first half of summer. These plants are colonial and spread rapidly.
Information on blackberry cultivation for home gardeners is available in the NC State Extension publication Blackberries for the Home Garden.
Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Rubus
- Species:
- pensilvanicus
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Sweet and juicy fruit often used for jams and jellies.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Canada, Central and Eastern United States
- Wildlife Value:
- Provides excellent cover year round. Butterflies and other insects are attracted to the blooms for nectar. Its fruits are eaten by songbirds, small mammals, foxes, raccoons, and black bears. During the winter, birds and small mammals eat the seeds left from rotted fruit. White-tailed deer and rabbits browse the leaves.
- Edibility:
- The fruits are large aggregates of 10-100 black drupelets, somewhat sweet.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 6 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 6 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
- Appendage:
- Prickles
- Thorns
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Flowers are replaced by juicy fruits that are globoid-ovoid in shape and up to ¾" long. The fruits have a pleasant sweet-tart flavor, sometimes with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Each drupelet within a fruit contains a single seed. The size of the fruit is strongly influenced by the amount of precipitation during the first half of summer. Fruits are available May-July.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Corymb
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- Second-year canes bear short corymbs of flowers spanning about 2-4" across. Each flower is about 1" across. The petals are oblanceolate in shape and rather wrinkled in appearance; they are much longer than the slightly pubescent sepals. At the base of the pedicel of each flower, there is either a stipule-like or leafy bract of varying size; the flowers are often partially hidden by these bracts. The blooming period of this blackberry lasts about 3 weeks. Flowers bloom April-June.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Prickly
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- First-year canes produce leaves of 5 leaflets, while second-year canes produce leaves of 3 leaflets. At the base of each terminal leaflet, there is a conspicuous basal stalklet (petiolule) about ½" long, while the lateral leaflets are sessile, or nearly so. Terminal leaflets are no more than twice as long as they are across.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Black
- Green
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Cross Section:
- Angular
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Young canes are light green, stout, and rather angular, but they later become red, reddish brown, or black. Stout prickles occur along the sides of the canes; these prickles are usually curved, rather than straight.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Hedge
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Problems:
- Spines/Thorns
