BLACKBERRY or BRAMBLE, a prickly, fruit-bearing shrub known botanically as Rubus fruticosus (family Rosaceae), a native of the north temperate region of the Old World, and abundant in the British Isles as a copse and hedge-plant. It is characterized by its prickly stem, leaves with usually three or five ovate, coarsely toothed stalked leaflets, many of which persist through the winter, white or pink flowers in terminal clusters, and black or red-purple fruits, each consisting of numerous succulent ,drupels crowded on a dry conical receptacle. It is a most variable plant, exhibiting many more or less distinct forms, which are regarded by different authorities as sub-species or species. In North America, several forms derived from native species, chiefly Ruh i.c nr rtiornhnrriic art. rilltivatt.rl for their excellent fruit which is marketed fresh and used also for canning.