Etymology: Rubus: Latin name for "bramble" or "blackberry"
Plants: erect to drooping, perennial, up to 7' tall shrub; first year's canes normally not rooting at the tip, a few to many fine, straight thorns with narrow bases
Leaves: 3 or 5 parted into sharply toothed leaflets, underside strongly whitened with soft gray fuzz
Flowers: white to greenish, 5-parted, petals shorter than the sepals; inflorescence of 2-5 flowers in an umbel-like cluster (cyme) and also solitary fro
Fruits: red, 1/4"-1/3" thick, round berry with a hollow center
Habitat: dry to moist; woods, fields, roadsides
Conservation Status: Native

Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 3, Wetland Indicator = FACW- USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos University of Wisconsin - Green Bay: Shrubs: Photos, descriptions, information USGS - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Virginia Tech Dept. of Forestry, College of Natural Resources: detailed description and photographs Purple Sage - Ethnobotanical Information: Detailed usage, preparation, and other helpful information Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"