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rubus argutus - southern blackberry

The Southern Blackberry (Rubus argutus) has angled stems that are erect to arching in form and finely hairy.  There are thorns on the stems, petioles, principal veins, the rachis of the inflorescence and pecidels.  There are 3 leaflets on the flowering stems and 5 on the non-flowering stems.  The leaflets are elliptic to elliptic-lanceiolate, 1 to 4-3/4 inches long and 1/2 to 2-1/4 inches wide.  They are finely hairy to glabrous above and densely velvety hairy beneath, serrate to doubly serrate, and the base is cuneate to rounded.  The terminal leaflet is often heart-shaped.  The petals are 3/4 to 1 inch long.  The fruit is aggregate, 1/2 to 1 inch in length and very juicy.

It is found in meadows, pastures, woodland borders, fence rows and old fields.  It often forms dense stands.  It flowers from April to May and fruits from June to July.


There are many species of blackberry found throughout the country, but this one is very common in Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

There is a common riddle used to describe the various stages of the blackberry:  What is white as snow, but snow it's not, green as grass but grass it's not, red as blood but blood it's not, and black as coal but coal it's not?  The answer, of course, is the blackberry.

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  • Home
  • Animals
    • Birds >
      • Avian Taxonomy
      • Bird Species Profiles
    • Mammal Species Profiles
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians >
      • Frog and Toad Species Profiles
    • Fish
    • Arthropods >
      • Arthropod Species Profiles
  • Plants
    • Native Plant Societies
    • Eastern Plant Identification Guide
  • Fungi
    • Fungi Species Profiles
  • Protists
  • Nature Products Store
  • Cell Phone Ringtones
  • Madbird Feeder Cam
  • Ramblings of the Madbird Biologist
  • Bird Videos
  • News in Science
  • Nature Inspired Recipes
  • An Introduction to Scientific Classification and Naming
  • Birds in the Classroom
  • Resources
  • About Me