Rubus cuneifolius Pursh

Sand Blackberry

Shrub

Perennial

Vascular

Sand Blackberry is a native perennial woody shrub in the Rose family (Rosaceae). It can be found throughout most of Alabama but is most common in south and east portions of the state. Sand Blackberry grows in old fields, along fence rows, in pine woodlands, in scrub oak woods, and along roadsides. It is a perennial with a tap root. Plants form dense stands from suckers produced along wide spreading roots. The stems are green in color, becoming reddish-brown with age. The stems are erect, 1-3 feet in height, pubescent when young, and heavily armed with hooked prickles. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, 3-5 foliate, and evergreen or semi-evergreen. The leaves on floricanes (second year stems that produce flowers) are usually 3-foliate while those of the primocanes (first year stems that are sterile) are 5-foliate. The petioles are often armed with recurved prickles. The leaflets are ovate to lance-elliptic in outline, serrate or doubly serrate, and densely white or gray pubescent beneath. The main veins on the underside of the leaflet are often armed with recurved prickles. Flowers are in 3-10 flowered racemes. The peduncles of the flowers are often armed with recurved prickles and are pubescent. Each flower has 5 pubescent sepals and 5 white petals. The fruit is an aggregate of drupelets. The fruit are edible and consumed by a wide variety of wildlife. Fruit can be eaten fresh or made into jellies, jams, or pies. Dense thickets of Sand Blackberry provide valuable cover and nesting sites for many small animals.--A. Diamond

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Native FACU (NWPL)

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