High-bush blackberry

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High-bush blackberry fruit

High-bush blackberry sepals

High-bush blackberry flowers

High-bush blackberry fruit

High-bush blackberry flowers

High-bush blackberry flowering stems

High-bush blackberry leaves

High-bush blackberry

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, often arching, glabrous; prickles slender or stout, curved, reddish or brownish; tips yellow; bases somewhat widened.

Leaves

Alternate, stalked, compound; leaflets of first year stems usually 5, ovate to oblong-ovate, 2 to 4 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, terminal leaflet typically wider at or above middle, glabrous above, softly hairy below, midrib with few hooked prickles; margins coarsely toothed; tips pointed; leaflets of second year flowering stems 3, similar but smaller.

Inflorescence

1-7-flowered, loose, elongate, terminal, lower flowers subtended by leaf-like bracts.

Flower

Showy, 3/4 to 1 inch wide; sepals 5, green; petals 5, white; stamens numerous, anthers yellowish.

Fruit

Spherical, 1/2 to 1 inch long, juicy, initially red, turning shiny black when ripe; seeds egg-shaped, flattened, rough, straw-colored.

Ecology

Habitat

Open woodlands, thickets, pastures, prairie ravines, and roadsides.

Distribution

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

The fruits can be eaten fresh, cooked, or in preserves. Dense thickets of high-brush blackberry provide good wildlife cover. Many species of birds consume the fruits and spread the seeds.

Additional Notes