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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Blackberries Good vs. Bad

When foraging blackberries,
you will be much happier if you pick the good ones.
Going through the pricks and scratches of the thorns,
you at least want to know it's worth it.
There are two kinds that grow in the same environments.
The berries look the same, but taste vastly different.
The way to tell them apart is by the leaves.
The good ones have rounder leaves with 5 per stem.
They look kinda like a large rose leaf and stem.
The berries from these plants will be delicious.

The other kind of black berry is an imposter.
The leaves are shaggy and jagged looking.
This plant will also produce berries.
They will look the same as the good ones,
but won't taste the same.

Both plants produce berries that 'appear' to be the same.
We have both on our place though I do try to get rid of the bad ones
more than I try to get rid of the good ones.
Both plants can and will take over if we let them.
Knowing the difference will make all the difference in your jam or cobbler.

And lastly, please forgive me if I have made a similar post in the past,
but I have run into a few people lately that are excited about
having black berries on their place and had no idea there was a difference.
It's just one of those little morsels of information worth knowing
especially  since if you have one you probably have the other.
If you are going to pick, might as well pick the good ones.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches








5 comments:

  1. Well, I learned something new here today. As I was reading this post I was thinking I've never had a blackberry that didn't taste good. Some tiny ones, that I avoid because have large seeds and hardly any juice, but even those taste okay. We have wild (and free ;) blackberry brambles all over our property, but I've never seen the shaggy leafed ones you've pictured. Interesting. I suppose it's our locale that makes the difference in our varieties.
    Have a great day!

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  2. Good to know! We find berries on occasion.

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  3. I don't believe the second one is a blackberry at all, but I don't know what it is, though I've seen them.

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  4. so enjoy a blackberry but not see the imposter before, maybe it is only in the USA fingers crossed that is where It stays!

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  5. Lisa from IroquoisJuly 18, 2015 at 7:38 AM

    That non-blackberry leaf looks vaguely familiar so I expect there must be some around the property somewhere. Good to know there is a difference. Thank you.

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