Allegheny blackberry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Allegheny blackberry |
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| Allegheny blackberry 1913 illustration |
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R. allegheniensis
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| Rubus allegheniensis (Porter) Porter 1896
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Synonymy
Rubus villosus var. montanus Porter 1890 not Rubus montanus Lib. ex Lej. 1813
Rubus montanus (Porter) Porter 1894 not Lib. ex Lej. 1813 Rubus alleghaniensis Porter Rubus allegheniensis var. nigrobaccus (L.H.Bailey) Farw. Rubus allegheniensis var. plausus L.H.Bailey Rubus allegheniensis var. populifolius Fernald Rubus attractus L.H.Bailey Rubus auroralis L.H.Bailey Rubus avipes L.H.Bailey Rubus bractealis L.H.Bailey Rubus campestris P.J.Müll. Rubus congruus L.H.Bailey Rubus fissidens L.H.Bailey Rubus floricomus Blanch. Rubus latens L.H.Bailey Rubus longissimus L.H.Bailey Rubus nigrobaccatus Focke Rubus nigrobaccus L.H.Bailey Rubus nigrobaccus var. sativus (L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey Rubus nuperus L.H.Bailey Rubus par L.H.Bailey Rubus paulus L.H.Bailey Rubus pennus L.H.Bailey Rubus rappii L.H.Bailey Rubus separ L.H.Bailey Rubus villosus Aiton Rubus villosus var. engelmannii Focke Rubus villosus var. montanus Porter Rubus villosus var. sativus L.H.Bailey Rubus villosus var. villigerus Focke Rubus gravesii (Fernald) L.H.Bailey Rubus marilandicus L.H.Bailey Rubus nigrobaccus var. gravesii Fernald Rubus tumularis L.H.Bailey Rubus uber L.H.Bailey Rubus virginianus L.H.Bailey |
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Rubus allegheniensis is a species of bramble, known as Allegheny blackberry and simply as common blackberry. Like other blackberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family. It is very common in eastern and central North America.
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Description
The characteristics of Rubus allegheniensis can be highly variable. It is an erect bramble, typically 1.5 metres (5 feet) but occasionally rarely over 2.4 m (8 ft) high, with single shrubs approaching 2.4 m or more in breadth, although it usually forms dense thickets of many plants. The leaves are alternate, compound, ovoid, and have toothed edges.
Canes have many prickles, with white, 5-petal, 19-millimetre (3⁄4-inch) flowers in late spring and glossy, deep-violet to black, aggregate fruit in late summer. It is shade intolerant.
Distribution and habitat
R. allegheniensis is very common in eastern and central North America. It is also naturalized in a few locations in California and British Columbia.
The presence of the species influences the dynamics of the understory 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 deer) reduce the abundance of Allegheny blackberry, a competitor, Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern), takes over. Where D. punctilobula becomes common, the growth of tree seedlings is restricted.
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. 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.
Uses
The berries are edible and nutritious. People eat them raw and cook them into various treats, including pies, cobblers, muffins, jellies, and jams.
Ecology
Many mammals eat the fruit, including elk, foxes, bears, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, 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.
