Pennsylvania blackberry
StarRubus pensilvanicus
Synonyms: Rubus subtentus, Rubus ablatus, Rubus harperi, Rubus insulanus, Rubus sertatus, Rubus ramifer, Rubus limulus, Rubus virilis, Rubus demareanus, Rubus difformis, Rubus wahlii, Rubus latifoliolus, Rubus independens, Rubus perfoliosus, Rubus frondosus, Rubus associus, Rubus fructifer, Rubus ozarkensis, Rubus impar, Rubus bushii, Rubus cauliflorus, Rubus pratensis, Rubus zoae, Rubus perpauper, Rubus kansanus, Rubus ucetanus, Rubus putus, Rubus oklahomus, Rubus argutus var. scissus, Rubus gattingeri, Rubus multispinus, Rubus amnicola, Rubus litoreus, Rubus brainerdii, Rubus summotus, Rubus angustus, Rubus pensilvanicus f. phyllophorus, Rubus rosarius, Rubus leggii, Rubus eriensis, Rubus densipubens, Rubus laudatus, Rubus recurvans var. subrecurvans, Rubus originalis, Rubus paludivagus, Rubus heterogeneus, Rubus insons, Rubus burnhamii, Rubus barbarus, Rubus senilis, Rubus cupressorum, Rubus praepes, Rubus interioris, Rubus kelloggii, Rubus pulchriflorus, Rubus condensiflorus, Rubus abactus, Rubus schneckii, Rubus arrectus, Rubus pensilvanicus var. frondosus, Rubus villosus var. frondosus, Rubus cardianus, Rubus jennisonii, Rubus vixargutus, Rubus recurvans, Rubus densissimus, Rubus suus, Rubus pensilvanicus f. albinus, Rubus missouricus, Rubus blakei, Rubus monongaliensis, Rubus saepescandens, Rubus defectionis, Rubus fatuus, Rubus pauxillus, Rubus honorus, Rubus offectus, Rubus uniquus, Rubus subtractus, Rubus bellobatus, Rubus oppositus, Rubus bractealis, Rubus scibilis, Rubus andrewsianus, Rubus arvensis, Rubus jugosus, Rubus tygartensis, Rubus nescius, Rubus humilior, Rubus rydbergianus, Rubus subsolanus, Rubus mollior, Rubus gnarus, Rubus congruus, Rubus wiegandii, Rubus persistens, Rubus prestonensis, Rubus facetus, Rubus libratus, Rubus philadelphicus, Rubus texanus
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
The sweet black fruit of Rubus pensilvanicus is edible and was gathered as food. As a member of the North American highbush blackberry complex, its astringent root-bark and leaves follow the well-documented blackberry tradition of nineteenth-century American Eclectic and domestic medicine, in which tannin-rich blackberry root-bark and leaf infusions were a standard astringent and tonic remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery and sore throat (King's American Dispensatory, Felter & Lloyd, 1898; Foster & Duke, 2000).
Gallery
Botanical Description
Rubus pensilvanicus, the Pennsylvania blackberry, is a thicket-forming shrub of the rose family (Rosaceae) native to eastern and central North America. It is an apomictic (asexually seed-reproducing) member of the highbush blackberry complex, closely allied to Rubus allegheniensis and the broader Rubus fruticosus aggregate, with which it is easily confused. The plant produces arching, biennial canes that are strongly angled and armed with stout, broad-based prickles, often growing 1-3 m and rooting at the tips to form dense brambles. The leaves are palmately compound, usually with three to five toothed, pointed leaflets, green above and paler and hairy beneath. White (occasionally pinkish) five-petalled flowers are borne in elongate clusters in late spring. The fruit is an aggregate of small drupelets that ripens from red to glossy black, edible and sweet. It grows in old fields, forest edges, clearings, roadsides, fence rows and other open, disturbed and successional habitats.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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