''Rubus allegheniensis'' is a North American species of highbush blackberry in Section ''Alleghenienses'' of the genus ''Rubus'', a member of the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but some ...

. It is the most common and widespread highbush blackberry in eastern and central

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It is commonly known as Allegheny blackberry.

Description

The characteristics of ''Rubus allegheniensis'' can be highly variable. It is an erect bramble, typically but occasionally rarely over high, with single shrubs approaching 2.4 m or more in breadth, although it usually forms dense thickets of many plants. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

, compound,

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

, and have toothed edges. The canes have many prickles, with white, 5-petal, flowers in late spring and glossy, deep-violet to black,

aggregate fruit A raspberry_beetle.html" ;"title="raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle">raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggregate fruit, an aggregate of drupelets. image:Aquilegia vulgaris 004.JPG, The fruit of an ''Aquilegi ...

in late summer. It is shade intolerant.Peterson, Chris J., and Steward T.A. Pickett. "Forest reorganization: a case study in an old-growth forest catastrophic blowdown." ''Ecology.'' 76 (1995): 763+. Retrieved 14 Oct. 2012. File:Rubus allegheniensis 15-p.bot-rubus.alle-29.jpg, Leaves File:Rubus allegheniensis NRCS-014.jpg, Fruits File:2020-05-20 08 53 56 Blackberry flowers along a walking path in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg, Flowers

Distribution and habitat

''R. allegheniensis'' is very common throughout forests in eastern and central

. It is also naturalized in a few locations in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Uses

The berries are edible and nutritious. They can be eaten raw or cooked into various treats, including pies, cobblers, muffins, jellies, and jams.

Ecology

Many mammals eat the fruit, including

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, American black bears, rabbits,

raccoons The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

opossums Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

, squirrels, mice, and chipmunks, and deer will browse the young canes. Blackberries are also an important food source for many species of birds. The mammals and birds that eat the fruit then disperse the seed in their droppings, enabling the plant to spread to new locations. A wide variety of native bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, ants, wasps, and other insects are attracted to the nectar and pollen of the flowers, and caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles eat the leaves. Birds and small mammals use the thickets formed by the canes for shelter. The presence of the species influences the dynamics of the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

vegetation of many forests in the eastern United States. An abundance of ''R. allegheniensis'' encourages new tree seedlings. Where the effects of herbivorous animals (such as

whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North, Central and South America. It is the most widely-distributed mainland ungulate ...

) reduce the abundance of Allegheny blackberry, a competitor, '' Sitobolium punctilobulum'' (hay-scented fern), takes over; where ''S. punctilobulum'' becomes common, the growth of tree seedlings is restricted."Wildlife Management." ''The Princeton Guide to Ecology''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2012. Concentrations of ''R. allegheniensis'' increase greatly after events that destroy taller shrubs and trees and thus permit more light into the understory, such as fires or widespread

blowdown Blowdown or Blowing down may refer to: * Windthrow or forest blowdown, a felling of trees by windstorm * Blowdown stack, a vertical containment structure at a refinery or chemical plant * Blowdown, a process plant controlled or emergency depressu ...

."Vegetation of Hooper Branch Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois." ''Northeastern Naturalist.'' 17 (2): pp 261-272. 2010 These populations often decline in later years as the tree seedlings sheltered by the blackberry canes grow and reduce the amount of light reaching the lower levels.

References

External links

* *
photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1992
* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q276439 allegheniensis Berries Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1890