bramble
Rubus fruticosus
Facts
Why not download our bramble fact sheet?
bramble fact sheet
- A very familiar, vigorous and thorny scrambling shrub
- Flowers are white or pink
- Fruit (blackberry) goes from green through-red, to deep purple and finally black when ripe
Where found
Common in woodland, hedges, scrub and wasteland.
It will grow almost anywhere throughout the British Isles.
When to look for
- Flowers June-July
- Ripe fruit from late July
Ripe blackberry live map
Blackberry brandy recipe A simple recipe that will make your mouth water.
blackberry brandy
You can also try making other hedgerow tipples:
free hedgerow tipples pack
Fabulous blackberry facts
- The fruit of the bramble is not a true berry - botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit
- There are around 400 micro-species of wild blackberry growing in the UK
- Strong ale brewed from blackberries, malt and hops was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Blackberries are known to have health benefits for women due to their high levels of phytoestrogens
- Blackberry pips were found in the stomach contents of a Neolithic man, during an archaeological excavation in Essex in 1911
- Thorny brambles were used by the ancient Britons the way modern people use barbed wire
- Gerards Herbal gives a remedy made from blackberry leaves 'for fastening the teeth back in'