''Rubus canadensis'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

known by the common names smooth blackberry, Canadian blackberry, thornless blackberry and smooth highbush blackberry. It is native to central and eastern Canada (from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) and the eastern United States (

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

, and the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

).Coladonato, Milo. 1994
''Rubus canadensis''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> This

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

forms thickets up to 2 to 3 meters (7–10 feet) tall. The leaves are deciduous and alternately arranged, each measuring 10 to 20 centimeters (4-8 inches) long. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 25 flowers. The fruit is an aggregate of many small

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

s, each of which contains a tiny nutlet. The plant reproduces by seed, by sprouting up from the rhizome, and by

layering Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...

. The stems can grow one meter (40 inches) in height in under two months.Flora of North America, ''Rubus canadensis'' Linnaeus, 1753. Canadian or smooth highbush blackberry, ronce du Canada
/ref> ''Rubus canadensis'' grows in many types of forested habitat, as well as on disturbed sites. Associated plants may include mountain maple (''

Acer spicatum ''Acer spicatum'', the mountain maple, dwarf maple, moose maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to northeastern North America from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland, and south to Pennsylvania. It also grows at high elevations in the sout ...

''), serviceberry (''

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

'' spp.), hobblebush (''

Viburnum alnifolium ''Viburnum lantanoides'' (commonly known as hobble-bush, witch-hobble, alder-leaved viburnum, American wayfaring tree, and moosewood) is a perennial shrub of the family Adoxaceae (formerly in the Caprifoliaceae), growing 2–4 meters (6–12&nbs ...

''), scarlet elder ('' Sambucus pubens''), common blackberry (''

Rubus allegheniensis ''Rubus allegheniensis'' is a North American species of glandular highbush blackberry in section Alleghenienses of the genus ''Rubus'', a member of the rose family. It is the most common and widespread highbush blackberry in eastern and centra ...

''), beaked hazel (''

Corylus cornuta ''Corylus cornuta'', the beaked hazelnut (or just ''beaked hazel''), is a deciduous shrubby hazel with two subspecies found throughout most of North America. Description The beaked hazelnut can reach tall with stems thick with smooth gray b ...

''), southern mountain cranberry (''

Vaccinium erythrocarpum ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

''), minnie-bush ''(

Menziesia pilosa ''Menziesia'' was a genus of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is ...

),'' and rosebay ('' Rhododendron catawbiense''). Many types of animals feed on the fruits and foliage of this shrub. The thickets provide cover and nesting sites. The fruits of this plant provided food for Native American groups, who also used parts of the plant medicinally at times.''Rubus canadensis''.
University of Michigan Ethnobotany.

References

External links

* *
The Nature Conservancy
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3446528 canadensis Flora of Canada Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus