Virginia Tech Dendrology

Alleghany blackberry Rosaceae Rubus allegheniensis Porter symbol: RUAL
Leaf: Alternate, palmately compound, 3 to 5 inches long and wide, 3 to 7 leaflets (mostly 5), ovate to oval leaflets, serrated margins, prickles on petiole, dark green above and much paler below.
Flower: Species is monoecious; showy white flowers (one inch across) with 5 petals, larger and persisting longer than black raspberry.
Fruit: Juicy, black multiple of drupes, up to 1 inch long, ripens in late summer. When picked, the fruit does not separate from its core.
Twig: Stout, strongly angled canes with large hooked prickles, dull reddish brown, lacking glaucous bloom. Cane tips do not root.
Bark: Similar to twig but darkens with age.
Form: Sprawling, arching canes that form dense thickets, often well over head-high, particularly when supported.
Looks like: prickly Florida blackberry - dewberry - black raspberry - multiflora rose

Additional Range Information: Rubus allegheniensis is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information