Dewberry

Order: Rosales

Family: Rosaceae

Genus: Rubus

Species: R. flagellaris

Identifying Characteristics:

- This native woody vine produces stems up to 15' long that trail along the ground; some of the flowering stems are more erect and up to 4' tall. Old stems are brown and woody with scattered hooked prickles. Young stems are green with scattered hooked prickles; they are also more or less hairy.

-Alternate compound leaves occur at intervals along the stems. They are usually trifoliate with 3 leaflets; less often, compound leaves with 5 leaflets occur. These leaflets are up to 3" long and 1" across; they are ovate, doubly serrate along the margins, and mostly hairless. The underside of each leaflet is pale green, rather than white or velvety. Most leaflets have wedge-shaped bottoms and tips that taper gradually.

-Young stems often terminate in a corymb of 1-5 flowers. Each flower is about 1" across when fully open; it consists of 5 white petals, 5 lanceolate green sepals, and numerous stamens that surround a green cluster of carpels. The petals are longer than the sepals and they often have a somewhat wrinkled appearance. The blooming period occurs from mid-spring to early summer and lasts about 2 months.

-Each fertilized flower is replaced by a compound drupe up to 1" long that is longer than it is broad. A fully ripened drupe becomes purple-black or black and has a tart-sweet flavor. This drupe does not detach from its receptacle easily.

Special Adaptations:

-This plant typically grows in partial sun and mesic to dry conditions.

- it tolerates different kinds of soil, including those containing loam, clay-loam, sand, or rocky material. Full sun is also toleratedThe flowers attract both long-tongued and short-tongued bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, Mason bees, Leaf-Cutting bees, Cuckoo bees (Nomadine), and Miner bees (Eucerine). These insects suck nectar or collect pollen. The flowers also attract butterflies, skippers, and various flies. Insects that feed on various parts of Common Dewberry

- The drupes of Common Dewberry and other Rubus spp. are an important source of summer food to many upland gamebirds and songbirds

-The Raccoon, Fox Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, White-Footed Mouse, and other mammals also eat the fruits, while the Cottontail Rabbit and White-Tailed Deer browse on the leaves and stems.