Blackberry (Rubus hirtus)

About

Rubus hirtus is a semi-shrub with sprawling or arching shoots that lie on the ground and root at the tips. The shoots are densely covered with dark red glandular bristles and thin prickles — they feel rough and sticky to the touch. The leaves are mostly trifoliate, dark green, and hairy underneath; some leaves winter under the snow green.

It blooms in June — July with white flowers in sparse racemes. The fruits are shiny black aggregate drupes without a bluish bloom. They ripen in August — September, and the ripe berry is picked along with the white core — this distinguishes blackberry from raspberry, which has a hollow berry.

In the Carpathians, this blackberry forms dense thickets under the canopy of beech, fir, and spruce forests, in clearings, along forest edges, and along forest roads — from the foothills to the middle mountain belt. Naturalists frequently record it in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Blackberries are a complex group to identify: botanists distinguish hundreds of small species in Europe that hybridize with each other. Therefore, several similar blackberries may grow nearby in the forest. The fruits of all of them are edible and differ only in taste and juiciness.

The berries are eaten fresh, made into jams and drinks. In forest thickets, be cautious: blackberries attract bears, and among the grass and branches, you might not notice a viper.

Where in the Carpathians

Teal — roughly where the species can occur, by elevation and habitat; orange — where naturalists recorded it (GBIF, CC0/CC BY).

Range: elevation belt and forests — our model (AWS Terrain Tiles; © OpenStreetMap)

Countries

Ukraine · Slovakia · Poland · Czechia

Mountain ranges

nearly all Carpathian ranges, in the forest belt

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Safety

Berries are edible. In blackberry thickets, make noise and talk to avoid surprising a bear, and watch your step: a viper may be basking in the thickets.

Look-alikes — how to tell them apart

In folk tradition

Berries are eaten fresh, made into jams and drinks.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Berries can be collected for personal use outside protected areas.

FAQ