Clearing Woods - Shrubs Part 4 - Brambles Part 1
Shrubs - Part 4 - Brambles - Part 1
Highly decorative or pernicious pests? To make certain that I don't get bored, the brambles in my USDA zone 7 woodland manage to be both at once.
"Bramble" is the common name for just about any of the more than two hundred fifty species in the genus Rubus, which belongs to the rose family, Rosaceae. In addition to seemingly countless wild species, native to most of the US or specific to only certain states, this genus includes the blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry and loganberry that are cultivated for their luscious fruit.
As I searched for the identity of the brambles in my woods, I soon found that telling one from the other is not an easy task - I found no less than thirty species listed as growing in Maryland. My frustrations were reinforced by many references to what a complex and interbred genus this is...seemingly quite promiscuous since they hybridize frequently when given the opportunity. Many species names are listed as synonyms for another; I found twenty-six for Rubus flagellaris.
Basically all brambles have upright and arching or trailing stems that rise from root buds. They all have alternate, compound leaves with serrate (toothed) margins. Stems are biennial and most all of them come equipped with bristles or prickles - some of formidable nature.
Any of the genus who produce fruit that ripens to a deep purple-black are commonly thought of as blackberries. These are particularly prevalent in eastern North America and on the Pacific coast, where, according to many online gardeners from the PNW, they are a menace of huge proportions. They are also found in the UK and western Europe, where they are often used as hedge plants.
All of them produce edible fruit clusters, much admired by birds and wildlife; some are cultivated and bred especially for it, since humans are also fond of the berries eaten raw, out of hand, or made into jellies, jams and other sweets. The berries are actually clusters of drupes, containing the hard seeds that stick in our teeth when we eat them.
When the shrubs lack the woody fibers in their stems that permit them to stand erect, and are instead trailing by nature, they're called dewberries. Some of these also produce excellent fruits and some are cultivated. I think I have run across a few specimens in my woods of one of the more common, weedy types, Rubus flagellaris, the northern dewberry, but I won't swear to it.
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