The blackberry is known to contain polyphenol antioxidants, naturally occurring chemicals that can upregulate certain beneficial metabolic processes in mammals. It is not advisable to use or eat blackberries growing close to busy roads due to the accumulated toxins from the traffic. The astringent blackberry root is sometimes used in herbal medicine as a treatment for diarrhea and dysentery. The related but smaller European dewberry (R. caesius) can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets. (Rubus caesius) is in its own section (Caesii) within the subgenus Rubus.

Habitat and description

Blackberry is a thorny shrub or vine, perennial, native to Eastern N. America from Nova Scotia to Ontario, New York, Virginia and North Carolina south. It is found in dry thickets, clearings and woodland margins, fence rows, open meadows, roadsides in and waste places.

When the Blackberry flowers bloom in the wild it is a beautiful sight; hillsides and fields are covered with white flowers. The flowers are white, with five petals, and bloom in April and May. Blackberry plants have biennial stems; they produce a number of new stems from the perennial rootstock each year, these stems fruit in their second year and then die. The vines are long and very thorny, growing in groups or thickets. Blackberry vines branch and can grow up to 15 feet or more in length, and thickets can extend to hundreds of square acres in an area. They die off after 2 to 3 years but are usually retained in the thickets making them largely impenetrable. Blackberry Leaves are light green, serrate and palmate with 3 to five leaflets or fingers, the main vein on the back of each leaflet has thorns.

Contribuition to diet

Almost all brambles are processed; perhaps 10% of the crop is sold fresh. Among the products using bramble fruit (in order of importance): preserves, jam, jelly; bakery products; frozen fruit; juices, extracts; ice cream, yogurt ; canned. Per capita consumption is 0.08 lb/yr for blackberry, and 0.22 lb/yr for raspberries.

Blackberry Facts and Tips

  • Black Raspberries, also known as “black caps” are a very healthy food; packed with anthocyanins!
  • The USDA says 1 cup of blackberries has about 62 calories.
  • 1 cup of blackberries, not packed down weighs about 140 grams.
  • Select plump, firm, fully black berries. Unripe berries will not ripen once picked.
  • Blackberries were enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, who believed them to be a cure for diseases of the mouth and throat, as well as a preventative against many ailments, including gout.
  • The blackberry leaf was also used as an early hair dye, having been recommended by Culpeper, the English herbalist, to be boiled in a lye solution in order to “maketh the hair black”.
  • Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase as Blackberries quickly mold when left at room temperature, and only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.
  • You can easily freeze berries that you can not use right away - just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible. Those vacuum food sealers REALLY do a good job of this! The berries will keep for many months frozen without air.

Sources: Pick your own, Uga

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