Dewberry

The dewberries (Rubus sect. Eubatus) are a group of species closely related to the blackberries

Blackberry

The blackberry is an edible berry in the Rubus genus and the Rosaceae family. The fruit are botanically termed an aggregate fruit and they are produced on plants that typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and raspberries are also called caneberries or brambles...

. They are small bramble

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

s with berries

Berry

The botanical definition of a berry is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary, such as a grape or a tomato. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. The flowers of these plants have a superior ovary formed by the fusion of...

 reminiscent of the raspberry

Raspberry

The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

, but are usually purple to black instead of red.

Dewberries are common throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

, sometimes thought of as a nuisance weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas, but also in parks, woods and other natural areas. More specifically, the term is often...

, but the leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...

 can be used for a tea

Tea

Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...

, and the berries are sweet and edible. They can be eaten raw, or used to make cobbler or jam.

Around March and April, the plants start to grow white flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...

s that develop into small green berries.

The dewberries (Rubus sect. Eubatus) are a group of species closely related to the blackberries

Blackberry

The blackberry is an edible berry in the Rubus genus and the Rosaceae family. The fruit are botanically termed an aggregate fruit and they are produced on plants that typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and raspberries are also called caneberries or brambles...

. They are small bramble

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

s with berries

Berry

The botanical definition of a berry is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary, such as a grape or a tomato. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. The flowers of these plants have a superior ovary formed by the fusion of...

 reminiscent of the raspberry

Raspberry

The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

, but are usually purple to black instead of red.

Dewberries are common throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

, sometimes thought of as a nuisance weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas, but also in parks, woods and other natural areas. More specifically, the term is often...

, but the leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...

 can be used for a tea

Tea

Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...

, and the berries are sweet and edible. They can be eaten raw, or used to make cobbler or jam.

Around March and April, the plants start to grow white flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...

s that develop into small green berries. The tiny green berries grow red and then a deep purple-blue as they ripen. When the berries are ripe, they are tender and difficult to pick in any quantity without squashing them. The plants do not have upright canes like some other Rubus species, but have stems that trail along the ground, putting forth new roots along the length of the stem. The stems are covered with fine spines or stickers. The berries are sweet and for many, are worth the scratches and stains that come from picking them.

In the winter the leaves often remain on the stems, but may turn dark red. The leaves are sometimes eaten by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect development, going through or undergoing metamorphosis ....

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including Peach Blossom

Peach Blossom

The Peach Blossom is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It is found throughout Europe and is a fairly common species in the British Isles....

.

The European dewberry, Rubus caesius, grows more upright like other brambles but is frequently restricted to coastal communities especially sand dune systems. Its fruits are a deep, almost black, purple and are coated with a thin layer or 'dew' of waxy droplets. Thus, they appear sky-blue (caesius is Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...

 for pale blue). It is less sought after, because its fruits are small and retain a markedly tart taste even when fully ripe.

Species

• Mayes dewberry, Rubus almus
• Aberdeen dewberry, Rubus depavitus
• European dewberry, Rubus caesius
• Northern dewberry, Rubus flagellaris
• Southern dewberry, Rubus enslenii
• Swamp dewberry
  Swamp dewberry
  The Swamp Dewberry, Bristly Dewberry, Bristly Groundberry, Groundberry, Hispid Swamp Blackberry, Running Swamp Blackberry is a bramble.It reaches a height of from 0.2 m to 1 m tall and is in leaf all year...
  
  , Rubus hispidus
• Upland dewberry, Rubus invisus
• Pacific blackberry
  Rubus ursinus
  Rubus ursinus is a species of blackberry or dewberry known by the common names California blackberry and Pacific blackberry. It is native to western North America. This is a wide, spreading shrub or vine-bearing bush with prickly branches. Its white flowers may be distinguished from those of other...
  
  , Rubus ursinus

and many more

See also

• Youngberry
  Youngberry
  Youngberry is a hybrid between a blackberry and a dewberry, both members of the genus rubus of the rose family, first cultivated in the western United States. Byrnes M. Young, a businessman in Morgan City, Louisiana, who loved science and plants had an ongoing correspondence with Luther Burbank...
  
  
• List of early spring flowers
• Black raspberry
  Black raspberry
  Black raspberry is a common name for two closely related species of the genus Rubus:*Rubus leucodermis, native to western North America*Rubus occidentalis, native to eastern North America...
  
  
• Boysenberry
  Boysenberry
  A boysenberry is a cross between a raspberry, a blackberry and a loganberry. It is a large compound fruit, with large seeds and a deep maroon color.- History :...
  
  , a cross between a Dewberry and a Loganberry
  Loganberry
  The loganberry is a hybrid produced from crossing a blackberry and a raspberry.-Origin:The loganberry is generally thought to be derived from a cross between the European red raspberry cultivar 'Red Antwerp' and the American blackberry cultivar 'Aughinburgh'...