''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 central
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. 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 (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are
alternate,
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 (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...
, and have toothed edges.
Canes have many prickles, with white, 5-petal, flowers in late spring and glossy, deep-violet to black,
aggregate fruit 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.]
Distribution and habitat
''R. allegheniensis'' is very common in eastern and central
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. 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.
["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.
["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.
Uses
The berries are edible and nutritious. People eat them raw and cook them into various treats, including pies, cobblers, muffins, jellies, and jams.
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]
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.[
]
References
External links
United States Department of Agriculture plants profile for ''Rubus allegheniensis''
photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1992
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q276439
allegheniensis
Berries
Flora of North America
Plants described in 1890