Rosaceae

Rubus fruticosus species aggregate

Common Names: Blackberry

Plant Form: Scrambling shrub. Size: Large dense thickets. Stem: Up to 7 m long, covered in spines, green to purplish red. Leaves: Compound with 3-5 leaflets, dark green above and lighter green below. Flowers: White or pink with 5 petals, 2-3 cm in diameter. Fruit and Seeds: Red to black cluster of berries, containing up to 40 seeds each. Habitat: Gullies, riparian areas, paddocks, forests. Distinguishing Features: Larger leaves with deeper green undersides than Native raspberry (Rubus parvifolius). Impacts: Forms dense prickly thickets that exclude stock, people, and native species, outcompetes and replaces native vegetation, negatively affects amenity.

Infested bushland

Flower close-up

Thorns

Leaves affected by a rust fungis

Leaves and fruit in late summer

Leaves yellowing before winter

Leaves

Cluster of ripe fruit