The blackberry honey that I have comes from the Bee Folks (MountAiry, MD) and was harvested in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, which isn’t
surprising since the bulk of blackberry production in the U.S. happens in
Oregon, Washington and California.
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| Marion Blackberry |
As you may know, blackberries are (yummy) edible fruit
produced by a number of species in the Rubus
genus, and hybrids between the Rubus
and Ideaobatus subgenera. While the
taxonomy of blackberries might seem straight forward, it is anything but,
particularly at the species level. As far as I can tell this confusion stems
from the fact that blackberries can reproduce both sexually (via hybridization
of two unrelated plants) and asexually (a.k.a. apomixis). This has led to a
situation where the original species that existed centuries ago have
intercrossed so much that it is unclear where species lines can be drawn. As a
consequence some blackberry species are grouped together into ‘species aggregates.’
So a specific species (say Rubus plicatus)
may also be part of a species aggregate and can be referred to by the aggregate
name (in this case Rubus fruticosus),
resulting in the same plant having two different names. It may be easier just
to know that all blackberries are in the Rubus
genus, and that there are estimated to be over 375 species.
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| Black Raspberry |
One thing that has always puzzled me is the difference
between raspberries and blackberries. I know that traditionally one is red and
the other is black, and that the shapes of the fruit are a little different,
etc. but there are varieties of raspberries that look a lot like blackberries
(e.g. black raspberries). So what is the difference? You may be surprised to know (I was) that it
has to do with the stem (called a torus). If you pick the fruit and the torus
stays with the fruit, it is a blackberry. If the stem stays on the plant,
leaving a hollow core in the fruit, it is a raspberry. Interesting, no?
Other interesting facts I learned: there are three types of
blackberry plants: erect, trailing vines and semi-erect; a “thicket” of
blackberry (or raspberry) canes is called a bramble (I actually knew this
already); and blackberries and raspberries are called collectively “caneberries.”
With all this use of “berries” you’d think that blackberries and raspberries
are berries, but in fact, botanically, they are not. They are considered an “aggregate
fruit composed of small drupelets.” Although “blackdrupelets” doesn’t really
roll off the tongue, does it? And while you may think that caneberry canes have
‘thorns’- those hard structures with sharp ends- they are, in fact, ‘prickles.’
I learned that thorns are derived from shoots (i.e. they arise from a bud and
as a result often have a very predictable pattern and are connected to vascular
bundles inside), and prickles are derived from the epidermis and as a result
can be found anywhere on the plant, are not connected to vascular bundles and
can be more easily removed. And in case you are wondering, there is a third
category of “hard structures with sharp ends”:
‘spines’ that are derived from leaves.
Of note, there are blackberry ‘prickle-free’ cultivars with the best
known being “Triple Crown.”
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| Types of Blackberry Plants |
Blackberries are native to Europe, northwestern Africa,
temperate western and central Asia, and North and South America, and they are
relatively hardy. They don’t need specific soil conditions and can tolerate
cold. They thrive in ditches, wastelands and vacant lots, but they do best in
temperate climes where there is a winter chilling to stimulate flower buds. And
lots of things eat blackberry leaves – caterpillars, deer- so they are not
without their enemies. Other animals eat their fruit- fox, badgers and small
birds- which helps disseminate seeds. Blackberries have been introduced and
thrive in non-native areas (e.g. Australia, Chile, New Zealand) where they are
considered to be an invasive species.
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| Schematic Showing Primacanes and Floricanes |
Blackberries are perennials but it usually takes two years
for a cane to produce fruit. In the first year the new stem (called a “primocane”)
grows to its full length but does not produce flowers. Then in the second year,
the stem doesn’t grow anymore but its lateral buds produce flowering laterals
(called a “floricane”). Floricanes die
after they have fruited and new canes replace them, growing from the roots of
old canes. Raspberries, in contrast, only take one year with the growth and
flowering occurring in the same year. While you might think this is yet another
difference between blackberries and raspberries, be aware that there are
exceptions (i.e. there are blackberry cultivars that produce fruit in the first
year that are called “everbearing”). Blackberry plants can produce fruit for
10-20 years.
Flowers (white or pink) are produced in late spring/early
summer, and fruit are produced post pollination, so blackberries are reliant on
pollinators (like bees). Conditions that affect pollination (weather, heat,
etc.) affect the quantity and quality of fruit. The fruit, which starts out red
and then ripens to black (due to their containing anthocyanins), is a good
source of fiber, vitamin C and vitamin K. Of interest, the seeds- which may not
be a favorite with consumers- are high in omega-3 and -6 fats, protein, and
fiber.
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| Characteristics of Different Cultivars (NWplant.com) |
Globally Mexico is the leading producer of blackberries-
predominantly now from the cultivar Tupy (or Tupi, a Brazilian cultivar
developed in the 1990s) but originally from the cultivar “Brazos” (a cultivar
develop in Texas in 1959). In the U.S., Oregon is the leading commercial
producer, with about 60% of the crop being the Marion cultivar (an industry
standard cultivar that was developed in 1956 and named after Marion county). Of
interest, the U.S. is a leader in developing all sorts of blackberry cultivars
(now generally through work done by the Department of Agriculture’s
Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) in their breeding program in
Corvallis, Oregon, but originally pioneered by Luther Burbank, father of the
“Phenomenal” and “White” cultivars). The U.S. has a long tradition of being in
the blackberry cultivar business. In 1880 Judge Logan introduced the Loganberry,
a blackberry-raspberry cultivar that is grouped with blackberries, in
California. And George Darrow and Walter Knott (of Knott’s Berry Farm in
California) developed the Boysenberry, a prickle-free blackberry-raspberry
hybrid cultivar. The Boysenberry was named after Rudolf Boysen, the owner of
the farm where the original cultivars came from. In 1905 the Youngberry was
developed in Louisiana from crossing Luther Burbank, Phenomenal Berry, and
Austin-Mayes Dewberry cultivars.
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| Fruit Size Differences: L to R Navaho, Apache, Kiowa |
The names of blackberry cultivars read like either a list of
synonyms for “black” (e.g. “Black Diamond,” “Black Pearl,” “Nightfall,” and
“Obsidian”), Native American tribes (e.g. “Cherokee”, “Choctaw”, “Navaho,” “Chicasaw,”and ”Apache”), people who were
associated with the cultivar (e.g. “Austin-Mayes,”and “Boysenberry”), or
qualities of the new cultivar (e.g. “Thornless”, “Ouchita” (very thorny), and
“Illini Hardy” (produced at the University of Illinois and cold hardy)). I’m
assuming the developer of the cultivar has naming rights, which must be a nice
perk after all the work it takes to make it happen.
Blackberry cultivars differ regarding zone hardiness, growth
pattern (i.e. erect, semi-erect and trailing), thorn status, fruit size, shape,
color, flavor and yield, cane length, and fruit time of ripening. I’m amazed at the variety. If you are
considering growing blackberries it is worth researching all the cultivars that
are available! And next time I buy blackberries I’ll pay attention to where
they were grown and what cultivar produced them.
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| Blackberry Honey |
The blackberry honey I have is thick and a mellow burnt orange color with a subtle berry aroma. It has classic honey sweetness- but not overly sweet- with undertones of ripe blackberries, especially in the after taste. It brings to mind lazy, hot summer days with the sun beating down and the sound of bees going from flower to flower. This may be as close as you can get to putting summer in a jar. This honey would be very tasty in tea, in hot cereal, on hot buttered toast, or right out of the jar.
