HUNTLEY MEADOWS CONTINUED - THE ALLEGHENY BLACKBERRY

 On our visit to Huntley Meadows I was happy to see these pretty flowers.

They were all along our walk through the wood. It is the Allegheny blackberry. Its other names are Common blackberry, Sow-teat blackberry, American blackberry and Mountain blackberry. Botanical name Rubus allegheniensis.

It is a deciduous shrub native to Eastern Canada and the USA, and is commonly found on clearings and woodland margins. The blooms are seen in late spring or early summer. Its fruit is edible and has a sweet, mildly spicy taste. Those fruits are most commonly eaten raw, but they can also be cooked or dried. 

In the garden, Allegheny blackberry is an ornamental shrub commonly cultivated for its edible berries. This shrub makes an excellent natural privacy screen when used as a border or hedge. It is commonly planted in butterfly gardens, pollinator gardens, meadows and more. The nectar and fruit of the plant attracts birds and a variety of pollinators, while providing valuable nutrients to local wildlife.

While this species of allegheny blackberry is commonly found in North America, it belongs to the larger genus of Rubus blackberries. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is considered unwise to eat blackberries after Old Michaelmas Day in the middle of fall. The legend goes that one should not eat blackberries because the devil has befouled them. It's thought that this myth originated because cool autumn weather can facilitate mold growth on blackberries.

The bark of this plant is dark red in color, and the leaves are green in summer and turn orange, purple or red during autumn. Its fruit is similar in appearance as a raspberry, but it turns black when it matures. Its specific epithet, allegheniensis, refers to the Allegheny Mountains, and that's why it is called Allegheny blackberry.

Indigenous peoples would eat the ripe berries fresh, ground with wild game meat to make pemmican cakes (recipe here), or dried and stored for later consumption. It was also used as a medicine for various ailments, whooping cough, colitis, toothache, anemia and sore throats to name just a few. An infusion of the roots was used as a wash for sore eyes. The blackberry canes were used for making baskets woven with the stems once the thorns were removed. You can read much more if you click on this link. It is all very interesting to find out about these plants.

I expect many of us have memories of picking wild blackberries along the hedgerows in our childhood.  For us it was part of our Sunday outings, and that evening my mother would make a blackberry pie. Blackberries even today are still an all-time favorite fruit of mine.