Description

We surveyed seven species of Rubus across the Greenbelt: Rubus allegheniensis is the Blackberry that grows there; Rubus flagellaris is a black dewberry; Rubus idaeus and Rubus occidentalis, red and black raspberries both grow in abundance; and three other less-often harvested raspberries, Rubus odoratus, the Purple-flowering raspberry, Rubus parviflorus, the Thimbleberry, and Rubus pubescens, the Dwarf Raspberry/ Dwarf Red Blackberry, also grow there. 

Three major Raspberry species that are valued as food are Red Raspberry (Rubus ideaus), Blackberry (Rubus canadensis and other blackberry species), and Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis). Rubus occidentalis is a berry that is Native to the Northeast woodlands and waterways of North America. The distinction between blackberries and kinds of raspberries revolve around fruit characteristics. All of the fruits are actually aggregate fruits, meaning they are formed into a drupe – the aggregations of many smaller fruits, called drupelets. The drupelets are all attached to a receptacle, which is the fibrous core of the fruit. In raspberries, the receptacle remains on the plant when the fruits are harvested, causing a hollow appearance in the middle of the drupe. In blackberries, the drupelets remain attached to the receptacle, which comes off when the fruit is picked. Raspberries are hairy and adhere to one another, and blackberries are hairless and smooth. Boysenberry, Loganberry and Youngberry are all hybrids between blackberries and raspberries.

All blackberries and raspberries produce renewal shoots from the ground called “canes.” Plants are perennial, composed of biennial canes which overlap in age. Individual canes grow vegetatively for one year, initiate flower buds in late summer, fruit the following summer, then die. First year canes are called “primocanes,” and second year canes, when they flower, are “floricanes.” Black and purple raspberries have more prominent thorns than red raspberries. Leaves are palmately compound with 3 -5 leaflets. Flowers are white to pink, borne terminally on several- flowered racemes, cymes or corymbose inflorescences. Most cultivars are self-fruitful and do not require pollinizers. Dewberries must be interplanted.