Rubus philadelphicus

Botanical Description

Rubus philadelphicus is a deciduous shrub, producing each year a cluster of erect to arching, prickly, biennial stems from a woody rootstock; the plant can grow 100 - 300cm tall[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth; forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plants form roots where the stem tips touch the ground, developing into dense, impenetrable clusters. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It has been cultivated as a food crop in the past and is probably the source of the outdated cultivar 'Lawton', at one time the leading cultivated blackberry in the USA[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ].