Rubus allegheniensis

Rubus allegheniensis is a species of bramble, known as Allegheny blackberry[6] and simply as common blackberry.[7] Like other blackberries, it is a species of flowering plant in the rose family. It is very common in eastern and central North America. It is also naturalized in a few locations in California and British Columbia.[8][9]

Rubus allegheniensis
Allegheny blackberry
1913 illustration[1]

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Rubus
Subgenus:
Rubus[2]
Species:
R. allegheniensis
Binomial name
Rubus allegheniensis
(Porter) Porter 1896
Synonyms[3][4][5]

Description

Characteristics can be highly variable.[7] It is an erect bramble, typically 5 feet (150 cm) but occasionally rarely over 8 feet (240 cm) high, with single shrubs approaching 8 feet or more in breadth, although it usually forms dense thickets of many plants. Leaves are alternate, compound, ovoid, and have toothed edges.[7][10]

Canes adorning an armorment of prickles, with white, 5-petal, ¾ inch (19 mm) flowers in late spring and glossy, deep-violet to black, aggregate fruit in late summer.[7] Shade intolerant.[11]

Distribution and habitat

The presence of Rubus allegheniensis influences the dynamics of the understory vegetation of many forests in the eastern United States. An abundance of Rubus 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 Dennstaedtia punctilobula becomes common, the growth of tree seedlings is restricted.[12]

Concentrations of Rubus 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.[11][13] 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.[11]

References
  1. Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 280. - http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=rual_001_avd.tif
  2. E.G. Voss A. A. Reznicek (2012), Field Manual of Michigan FloraCS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. "Rubus allegheniensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  4. Tropicos, Rubus allegheniensis Porter
  5. The Plant List, Rubus allegheniensis Porter
  6. "Rubus allegheniensis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. "Common Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)". Missouri Department of Conservation Field Guide. Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  8. "PLANTS Profile for Rubus allegheniensis (Allegheny blackberry)". USDA. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  9. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  10. Flora of North America, Rubus allegheniensis Porter, 1896. Allegheny or common blackberry, sow-teat berry, ronce des Alléghanys
  11. 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.
  12. "Wildlife Management." The Princeton Guide to Ecology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  13. "Vegetation of Hooper Branch Nature Preserve, Iroquois County, Illinois." Northeastern Naturalist. 17 (2): pp 261-272. 2010
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