black raspberry

(Rubus occidentalis)

Conservation Status
black raspberry
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Black raspberry is a 24 to 84 tall, erect to arching bramble that rises on multiple stems from a woody, branching taproot. It often forms dense colonies. They often form impenetrable thickets.

A series of biennial stems (canes) are sent up from a perennial base. First year stems (primocanes) do not flower. They grow to their full length, which can be up to 13 long. Longer stems arch to the ground and root at the tips. They are initially light green and are covered with a whitish, waxy coating (glaucous). They are round (not grooved), and become woody, at least near the base. They may turn reddish-purple in strong sun. Over the winter they turn reddish or brownish and become woody. They are sparsely covered with prickles, with just 0.2 to 1 prickle per centimeter (). The prickles are to 3 16 long, broadened at the base, and strong enough to tear skin. They are shaped like a cat’s claw but not as curved. The canes do not have bristles, hairs, or glandular hairs.

The leaves are alternate and deciduous. Primocane leaves are palmately divided into usually 3, rarely 5, leaflets. They are on leaf stalks that usually have a few 1 32 to 1 16 long prickles but do not have bristles, hairs, or glandular hairs. At the base of each leaf stalk is a pair of small appendages (stipules) that are to 5 16 long and thread-like.

The terminal leaflet is egg-shaped to elliptical, occasionally with a few shallow lobes. The larger terminal leaflets are 2 to 4¾ long, 19 16 to 3½ wide. The blade is usually rounded or heart-shaped at the base. It tapers to a point at the tip with straight or concave sides along the tip. The upper surface is dark green and hairless or almost hairless. The lower surface is whitish or silvery gray due to a dense covering of grayish hairs. The margin is coarsely doubly toothed with sharp, forward-pointing teeth. The lateral leaflets are similar but smaller and narrower. They occasionally have a small or large lobe at the base. The terminal leaflet is stalked, the lateral leaflets are stalkless or nearly stalkless.

Second year canes (floricanes) do not grow longer but develop short side branches.

The inflorescence is a dense, flat-topped or convex cluster of 3 to 7 flowers at the ends of the branches. The stalked flowers in the cluster grow upward from various points on the main stem to approximately the same horizontal plane (corymb). Sometimes there are also 1 or 2 flowers rising from upper leaf axils. The stalk of the cluster has a few prickles but does not have bristles, hairs, or glandular hairs.

The flowers are about ½ across and are not showy. They are on 5 16 to ¾ long stalks that has a few broad-based or needle-shaped prickles and some fine hairs but does not have glandular hairs. There are 5 green, triangular egg-shaped to triangular elliptic, 3 16 to long sepals. They are, hairy but do not have glandular hairs. They are erect to spreading when in flower, eventually bent backward when in fruit. There are 5 white, narrowly inversely egg-shaped, 1 16 to 3 16 long petals. The petals are shorter than the sepals. There are many stamens, all shorter than the petals. The flowers appear in mid May to late June.

The fruit is a juicy, short, half globe-shaped, ½ to in diameter aggregate of multiple drupelets. It is white at first, soon turning red, then eventually purplish-black when fully ripe. It matures early-July to late August. When picked it separates from its core, remaining intact.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

24 to 84 tall, stems to 13 long

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

White

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) stems have vertical grooves giving them an angled appearance. The leaf stalks have sparse to dense hairs and sometimes glandular hairs along with a few prickles. The inflorescence is an elongated, cylinder-shaped, 3 to 8 long cluster (raceme) with usually 9 to 14 flowers. The stalks of the clusters and individual flowers are densely covered with short nonglandular hairs and longer glandular hairs.

American red raspberry (Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus) is a smaller plant. The canes are shorter, usually remain erect, and do not root at the tip. They have many bristles and no broad-based prickles. The fruits ripen red, not black.

European red raspberry (Rubus idaeus ssp. idaeus) leaves are pinnately divided into 5 or 7, rarely 3, leaflets. It sometimes escapes gardens but is not naturalized.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry or moist woods. Fields and thickets.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Mid-May to late June

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 28, 29, 30.

 
  2/14/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Very common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Rosales (roses, elms, figs, and allies)  
 

Family

Rosaceae (rose)  
  Subfamily Rosoideae (brambles, roses, strawberries, and allies)  
  Tribe Rubeae (bramble)  
 

Genus

Rubus (brambles)  
  Subgenus Idaeobatus  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Rubus occidentalis var. pallidus

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

black-cap

black raspberry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Aggregate fruit

A compound fruit consisting of many separate individual fruits derived from separate ovaries in a single flower, like a raspberry or blackberry.

 

Axil

The upper angle where a branch, stem, leaf stalk, or vein diverges.

 

Bramble

Thorny plants in the genus Rubus, including blackberry, dewberry, and raspberry.

 

Corymb

A flat-topped or convex inflorescence in which the stalked flowers grow upward from various points on the main stem to approximately the same horizontal plane. The outer flowers open first.

 

Drupe

A fleshy fruit with a single hard, stone-like core, like a cherry or peach.

 

Floricane

A two year old cane of a raspberry or blackberry that bears fruit and then dies.

 

Glandular hairs

Hairs spread over aerial vegetation that secrete essential oils. The oils act to protect against herbivores and pathogens or, when on a flower part, attract pollinators. The hairs have a sticky or oily feel.

 

Glaucous

Pale green or bluish gray due to a whitish, powdery or waxy film, as on a plum or a grape.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Palmate

Similar to a hand. Having more than three lobes or leaflets that radiate from a single point at the base of the leaf.

 

Pinnate

On a compound leaf, having the leaflets arranged on opposite sides of a common stalk. On a bryophyte, having branches evenly arranged on opposite sides of a stem.

 

Primocane

The first year cane of a raspberry or blackberry; it is usually unbranched and normally does not flower.

 

Raceme

An unbranched, elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers. The flowers mature from the bottom up.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

 

Stipule

A small, leaf-like, scale-like, glandular, or rarely spiny appendage found at the base of a leaf stalk, usually occurring in pairs and usually dropping soon.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

 

 
 

 

 
           
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Plant

 
    black raspberry      
           
 

Flower

 
    black raspberry   black raspberry  
           
    black raspberry      
           
 

Leaves

 
    black raspberry   black raspberry  
           
    black raspberry      
           
 

Leaf Underside

 
    black raspberry   black raspberry  
           
 

Stem

 
    black raspberry   black raspberry  
           
    black raspberry      
           
 

Infructescence

 
    black raspberry   black raspberry  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  black raspberry
ophis
 
  black raspberry  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Wild Edibles 22: Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis)
Journey Outdoors
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jul 7, 2011

How to identify black raspberry. Delicious wild berry and one of the first to ripen around the Great lakes area.

   
  How to find Wild Black Raspberries - I.D. Video
Earthwalker40 .
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 8, 2013

Please comment, share, like and subscribe. http://www.youtube.com/user/Earthwalk... These black raspberries are in west central ohio and will be ready in about a week and a half. How to find wild black raspberries.

I.D. Video
Wild foods
Organic food

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
   

 

   
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Baker Park Reserve

Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park

Big Stone Lake State Park

Big Woods Heritage Forest WMA

Blaine Preserve SNA

Blue Mounds State Park

Boot Lake SNA

Bunker Hills Regional Park

Cambria WMA

Camden State Park

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Carver Highlands WMA, South Unit

Cedar Mountain SNA

Cedar Rock SNA

Charles A. Lindbergh State Park

Cherry Grove Blind Valley SNA

Clear Lake SNA

Cleary Lake Regional Park

Clifton E. French Regional Park

Clinton Falls Dwarf Trout Lily SNA

Crosby Farm Regional Park

Crow-Hassan Park Reserve

Crystal Spring SNA

Des Moines River SNA

Dodge Nature Center

Edward Velishek Memorial WMA

Englund Ecotone SNA

Falls Creek SNA

Flandrau State Park

Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park

Fort Ridgely State Park

Franconia Bluffs SNA

Frontenac State Park

Glendalough State Park

Greenleaf Lake SRA

Hampton Woods WMA

Hastings Sand Coulee SNA

Hastings SNA

Holthe Prairie SNA

Hyland Lake Park Reserve

Hythecker Prairie SNA

Iron Horse Prairie SNA

John Murtaugh Memorial WMA

John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA

Kasota Prairie

Kasota Prairie SNA

Keller Regional Park

Kilen Woods State Park

King’s and Queen’s Bluff SNA

Lake Elmo Park Reserve

Lake Louise State Park

Lake Maria State Park

Lawrence Creek SNA

Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Lost Valley Prairie SNA

Maplewood State Park

Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA

McKnight Prairie

Minneopa State Park

Minnesota Valley NWR, Rapids Lake Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Wilkie Unit

Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, Lawrence Unit

Mississippi River County Park

Mound Prairie SNA

Mound Spring Prairie SNA, North Unit

Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Myre-Big Island State Park

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Oronoco Prairie SNA

Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo

Phelps Lake WMA

Pilot Knob

Pin Oak Prairie SNA

Pine Bend Bluffs SNA

Prairie Bush Clover SNA

Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit

Rice Lake Savanna SNA

Rice Lake State Park

Ritter Farm Park

River Terrace Prairie SNA

River Warren Outcrops SNA

Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve

Rushford Sand Barrens SNA

St. Croix Savanna SNA

Savage Fen SNA

Schaefer Prairie

Seminary Fen SNA

Seven Mile Creek County Park

Seven Springs WMA

Shooting Star Prairie SNA

Split Rock Creek State Park

Spring Creek Prairie SNA

Spring Lake Park Reserve

Spring Lake Regional Park

Springbrook Nature Center

Sunfish Lake Park

Swedes Forest SNA

Tamarack Nature Center

Thompson County Park

Tiedemann WMA

Townsend Woods SNA

Twin Valley Prairie Addition

Uncas Dunes SNA

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

Valley View Park

Vermillion Highlands Research Recreation and WMA

Vermillion River WMA

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

Whitewater State Park

Wild Indigo SNA

Wild River State Park

William O’Brien State Park

Wood-Rill SNA

Woodbury WMA

Woodland Trails Park

 

 

 

Binoculars


Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com.com. All rights reserved.