Scientific name:
Rubus ursinus General: Prostrate, trailing, to 5 m or more long, armed with slender, curved, unflattened prickles; floral canes (produced in the second year) erect, to 50 cm tall.
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, with 3 leaflets 3-7 cm long, the terminal leaflet 3-lobed, dark-green, toothed.
Flowers: White or pink, large (to 4 cm across); in flat-topped purplish-hued clusters from the leaf axils; male and female flowers on separate plants.
Fruits: Black blackberries to 1 cm long; edible and delicious.
Ecology: Common and often abundant on disturbed sites, thickets and dry, open forest at low to middle elevations; behaves as a weed in some suburban and rural areas.