Have you noticed any blackberries growing down here in the Canyon? Two species of blackberry plants make their home here! The first kind is the native Pacific Blackberry, or Rubus ursinus, which can be found all throughout the Pacific Northwest. You can identify this plant by its pattern of three leaves, which have jagged edges and a darker color (Fig. 1). In the spring and summer, the plant produces dark berries and pink flowers! The second kind is the Himalayan Blackberry, or Rubus armeniacus. This plant is invasive – it was brought to the American West Coast from the Armenian region of Asia in the late 19th century. You can identify it by its lighter color, and its groups of five leaves with smoother edges (Figure 2). This plant is very prolific and possesses much larger thorns along its stems than the native blackberry does. However, its berries are known to be the more delicious of the two! About two decades ago, the canyon was overwhelmed by these two species – to the point where it was largely inaccessible to students and visitors. The hard work of our restoration team has cleared out all that overgrowth and created these wonderful trails, but the plants still thrive!
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Works Cited:
- Cover photo: Rubus ursinus | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University (n.d.). https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/rubus-ursinus
- Johnson, Kirsten. 2000. Rubus ursinus - Trailing blackberry; Dewberry; Pacific blackberry. Northwest Oregon Plant Project, from http://web.pdx.edu/~maserj/ESR410/rubisursinus.html.
- Stannard, M.E. 2014. Plant guide for Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Materials Center, Pullman, Washington 99164-6211.