Tropical Plant "Blackberry"
Rubus ulmifolius

Characteristics - The blackberry is a temperate fruit bearer native to Europe and North America. It is being successfully cultivated in Brazil. It is a deciduous shrub, spinescent or thornless, with scandent branches, whose aerial portion renews itself each year, drying out and then resprouting from the base; it needs between 100 and 1000 hours of cold (<7.2C) per year, to produce well. Leaves compound with chartaceous leaflets, glabrous on top and sparse hairs underneath, 4-7 cm long. Flowers androgynous, solitary or grouped, axillary, form in the spring. Fruits are aggregates, globose, full, carnose, with an acidic flavor, they mature in the summer.

Uses - The fruits are consumed in natura (raw) and in the form of jellies.

Propagation - Propagated mainly from basal shoots.