Botany
Many blackberry species are closely related apomictic microspecies, native throughout Europe, northwestern Africa, temperate western and central Asia and North and South America. What distinguishes the blackberry is the connection between the berry and the torus. When a blackberry is picked, the torus stays with the fruit, whereas a picked raspberry leaves its torus on the vine.
Blackberries are perennial plants bearing biennial stems, called canes, from their roots. In its first year, a new stem called the primocane reaches a full length of about 3-6 metres (10-20 feet), trails on the ground and bears no flowers. The flowers bloom in late spring and early summer on the tips of branches. First- and second-year shoots produce short-curved, sharp thorns, and thornless cultivars have been developed during the early 21st century. Each flower is about 2-3 centimetres in diameter, with five white-pink petals.
Names and relatives
Rubus fruticosus L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus Rubus. The aggregate Rubus fruticosus agg. includes most, or rarely all, of the species of Rubus subgenus Rubus. The word bramble has traditionally been applied in some circles specifically to the blackberry or its products. In the United States, bramble applies to all members of the genus Rubus. In the western US, the term caneberry refers to blackberries and raspberries as a group.
Dewberries are a group of species in the genus Rubus that are closely related to the blackberries. In North America, the Rubus species called dewberries are small, trailing brambles with aggregate fruits.
Farming and ecology
Blackberries are an important element in the ecology of many countries, and harvesting the berries is a common pastime. The plants are also considered a weed, because they grow vigorously and tend to grow unchecked if not managed correctly. Blackberry shrubs can tolerate poor soils , spreading readily in wasteland, ditches, and roadsides. In some parts of the world, such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest of North America, some blackberry species are naturalized and considered an invasive species and a noxious weed. Blackberry fruits are red when unripe, which gave rise to an old expression about blackberries being red when green.
Mexico leads the world in blackberry production, and nearly all of its crop is grown for export to the off-season fresh markets of North America and Europe.
Volatile compounds
Raspberry ketone occurs in a variety of fruits, including raspberries, cranberries and blackberries. In the pedigree of the 'Marion' blackberry, each genotype had a specific volatile composition. Terpenes and furanones were predominant in the wild 'Himalaya' blackberry, whereas terpenes were the major volatiles in 'Santiam'.
The 'Marion' blackberry, a selection from 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie', contained almost all the volatile compounds of its pedigree at moderate amounts. Its linalool content is moderate, between a high content in 'Olallie' and a low content in 'Chehalem'. The furaneol concentration in 'Marion' was higher than in its parents. Beta-ionone was very high in raspberry and 'Logan' and was reduced by half in 'Olallie' and by another half in 'Marion' as the crossing proceeded.
