Native versus non-native blackberries

We see blackberry brambles growing along country roads in Marin. We may also see them up in a neighbor’s unkempt yard. The native species is Rubus ursinus. The nonnative and invasive species is Himalayan blackberry, Rubus armeniacus. It is rated by the California Invasive Plant Council as having high impact on native ecosystems. If left untended, Himalayan blackberry may form impenetrable thickets and crowd out our native plants.

Do you want to know how to tell them apart? Our native blackberry has three leaflets, each leaflet with a green underside. The Himalayan blackberry may have three to five leaflets, each with a white underside. Both have stems with prickles.

Botanist John Thomas Howell in “Marin Flora” sums it up: “As objectionable as this Eurasian plant is, its blackberries are delicious and are sought after for jams and jellies.”