| When the plant antioxidant story became public a | | | | Marionberries are the most widely cultivated |
| few years ago, one of the first fruits to rise to the | | | | blackberry specie in the world, especially favored as a |
| top of the ORAC charts was the blackberry (Rubus | | | | popular fruit crop in many countries of Europe. Russia, |
| ursinus). | | | | Germany and Poland are major producers of |
| A member of the rose family (Rosacea) and Rubus | | | | blackberries. The state of Oregon harvests some 33 |
| species of brambleberries (also called "caneberries"), | | | | million pounds of blackberries each year, whereas the |
| the blackberry has become one of Oregon's most | | | | worldwide production is close to 1 billion pounds. |
| important fruit exports. Blackberries have an exotic | | | | A tasty and long defensive history |
| nature to them perpetuated by the culinary fame of | | | | The genus Rubus contains over 740 species as |
| the famous Marionberry, a species of blackberry first | | | | perennial, deciduous, woody shrubs with long vines |
| bred from two cultivars of the Evergreen blackberry | | | | ("brambles" up to 20 ft long) covered by firm thorns |
| in Oregon's Willamette River Valley, Marion County. | | | | that made blackberry brambles useful as a defensive |
| Marionberries have exceptional shape, aroma and | | | | barrier along English land borders during the 16th |
| taste that make them a worldwide favorite of | | | | century. |
| gourmet chefs and specialty food manufacturers, | | | | Rubus also includes roses and diverse other major |
| paving the way for common use of brambleberries in | | | | fruits, including strawberries, apples, pears and |
| today's kitchens. | | | | peaches. While it may be difficult to see common |
| Drooping with drupelets of goodness | | | | characteristics among such diverse fruits and the |
| As with other Rubus species (black and blackberries, | | | | blackberry, there is one important botanical similarity: |
| loganberries, boysenberries), blackberries have a | | | | the flower. All these Rubus plants typically have 5-7 |
| unique structure that actually contributes to their | | | | white/pink petals around a central cluster of yellow |
| nutritional value - it is an "aggregate fruit" composed | | | | stamens. |
| of many individual drupelets, each like a small berry | | | | What is a "bramble" and is this the same as a "cane"? |
| with one seed, surrounding a firm core called the | | | | A bramble is any plant belonging to the genus Rubus, |
| receptacle. These individual drupelets contribute extra | | | | of which the most commonly known-- and enjoyed-- |
| skin, seeds and pectin with dietary fiber value to the | | | | are the red or black raspberry and blackberry, each |
| nutritional content of blackberries, making it among | | | | having numerous hybrids. There are also some |
| the highest fiber content plants known. | | | | cross-cultivars between the red raspberry and |
| Courtesy of Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry | | | | blackberry, such as the boysenberry and loganberry. |
| Commission | | | | Saying "bramble" is just a simple way to say |
| Where do blackberries grow and what characteristics | | | | "raspberries, blackberries, and related berry plants |
| do the berries have? | | | | with thorny vines" Mainly in Oregon, these fruits are |
| Blackberries grow wild and are cultivated in | | | | also called "caneberries" because they grow on |
| temperate zones from the mid-south US to | | | | woody bramble stems called canes. |
| near-Arctic latitudes of northern Canada and are | | | | What is it about blackberries that consumers most |
| cultivated mainly in northern US states, particularly | | | | like? |
| Oregon and Washington State, and southern British | | | | Known as the "cabernet" of berries for their earthy, |
| Columbia. Blackberries are commercially grown on | | | | wine-like taste, blackberries are an easy and healthy |
| every temperate continent, including Africa and Asia. | | | | addition to anyone's diet. |