Rubus canadensis
Rubus canadensis is a North American species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names smooth blackberry, Canadian blackberry, thornless blackberry and smooth highbush blackberry. It is native to central and eastern Canada and the eastern United States. It has also been sparingly recorded in Great Britain, in which it is often confused for the many other native blackberry species.
This rhizomatous shrub forms thickets up to tall. The leaves are deciduous and alternately arranged, each measuring long. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 25 flowers. The fruit is an aggregate of many small drupes, each of which contains a tiny nutlet. The plant reproduces by seed, by sprouting up from the rhizome, and by layering. The stems can grow in height in under two months.
Rubus canadensis grows in many types of forested habitat, as well as on disturbed sites. Associated plants may include mountain maple, serviceberry, hobblebush, scarlet elder, common blackberry, beaked hazel, southern mountain cranberry, minnie-bush , and rosebay.
Many types of animals feed on the fruits and foliage of this shrub. The thickets provide cover and nesting sites.
The fruits of this plant provided food for Native American groups, who also used parts of the plant medicinally at times.