Early July is when my lips, fingers and hands may turn purple and my arms become covered with tiny scratches.
I’m talking about blackberry picking, which, for many of us, is a rite of summer. The first half of July is peak time for ripe, juicy wild blackberries in Georgia. They’re hanging heavy now on thorny vines growing in dense tangles — along roadsides, trails, fence rows, edges of woods and other sunny spots.
Risking bee stings, thorns and chiggers, I can’t resist plucking the inky-black morsels right off the vine and popping them into my mouth. If I can manage to bring some home, a delicious blackberry cobbler may be my reward.
Actually, my botanist friends tell me that some of the plants I call blackberries are really dewberries. The two plant types are close cousins, lumped in the same genus, Rubus. Both types bear white flowers in spring and, in summer, dark, purple berries that are similar in taste and appearance.
At least 20 wild Rubus species grow in Georgia, but not all are native. For instance, the Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), a native of Eurasia, is classified as an invasive species.
Some of Georgia's common native blackberry species are the mountain blackberry (Rubus alleghaniensis); Southern blackberry (R. argustus); swamp blackberry (R. betulifolius); highbush blackberry (R. pensilvanicus); and sand blackberry (R. cuneifolius). Their berries may range from plump to long and narrow; tastes may range from sweet to tart.
Native dewberries include Southern running dewberry (R. trivialis) and common dewberry (R. flagellaris).
In general, blackberries grow on stiff, upright stems in dense tangles called brambles; dewberries may run along the ground like thorny vines.
Blackberries are valuable food for songbirds and other wildlife. The thick brambles also provide nesting sites, shelter and hiding places for many wild creatures.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be full tonight — the “Ripe Corn Moon” as the Cherokee people called July‘s full moon. Mercury is low in the west at dusk. Venus rises in the east a few hours before dawn. Jupiter is low in the west around sunset. Saturn rises in the east just before sunset.
