Re: [nafex] (unknown)

["victoria l. caron" <vicaron@gis.net>]

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To me the plants sound like a type of blackberry. Nothing you describe
suggests that it could not be. We are still picking blackberries here in
northern NH where they grow wild in deforested areas. They are so abundant
in this region that I have never heard of anyone growing a cultivated
variety. Although similar in many ways, there can be obvious differences in
wild blackberries. Form of berries can vary from small to large cap or round
shaped, small to large elongated and combinations of both with also varying
widths. My daughter and I are partial to the rounder or cap shaped ones
which tend to grow on canes that are green and weak when compared to the
heavy purple canes that tend to produce the more elongated berries. These
rounder berries tend to have larger cells which means less seeds per unit of
measure, they also tend to be better flavored. I have found that many types
of blackberries will pick hollow, especially when well ripened. Over the
years we have been picking in three 'clear cuts' and have our favorite
patches, some of which are very small and others that are consistent for
acres. My daughter Charlene found an amber colored variety back in '92 which
is the only one I grow in our garden.



edforest55@hotmail.com wrote:

>
> Can anyone help this fella, he wants to identify a plant he has. The
> fruit seems to have characteristics of both:
>
> Blackberry or Raspberry?
>
> There are wild plants growing in my garden, and I'm not sure if they
> are blackberries or black raspberries.  From the information that I
> gathered, blackberries have wide, sturdy, and flared thorns on the
> canes, while raspberries have little prickly thorns all over the
> canes.  The thorns on my canes are wide, sturdy, and flared.
>
> However, I was also told that raspberries have cap-like fruit, and
> when picked, the stems stay on the plant, while with blackberries,
> the stems often come off during the harvest.  My berries are not very
> cap-like, but their stems do stay on the plant, and the top part of
> the fruit is hollow.
>
> Now for more of a description of the plants themselves; the deep
> green leaves grow in sets of five, with 4 leaves coming almost
> directly off the red cane (thus having very little stems).  These
> leaves grow at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the stem,
> pointing in 4 opposite directions.  The fifth leaf has a more
> pronounced stem, so it sticks out from the cane, and grows parallel
> to the cane. It is also usually the largest leaf in the cluster.
> They grow to be about 5 or 6 feet long, arching over themselves after
> reaching about 3 feet.
>
> It is September 21, and the plants are still fruiting in Northeastern
> PA (zone 5), although nowhere near as heavily as they were two months
> ago.  The flowers are white, with yellow centers, in late May, June,
> July, and even some in early August (bees love them).  Then berries
> are green, which matures into red, which darkens until they are a
> deep shiny black.  There are still red berries on the canes now.
> Ripe and especially over-ripe berries leave a purple stain on
> anything they touch.  The seeds are very numerous, and are also
> hard.  The berries normally are 3/4 of an inch to an inch in length,
> and are about 3/4 of an inch thick at the thickest part, which is
> just slightly below the stem end of the berry.
>
> Any help in identifting this plants would be greatly appreciated.