ROSACEAE 113 



is glabrous, oblong, about \/i to ^}4 inch long by half as wide, 

 sweet, and reddish when it becomes dry. 



Distribution. — The Highbush Blackberry seems to prefer 

 a hard, moist soil, frequently a clay soil, and in such habitats 

 ranges from Nova Scotia southwestward to Kansas and Iowa. 

 In the east its southern limit is North Carolina. In Illinois, it 

 occurs throughout the southern part of the state and has 

 been reported rather frequently from the vicinity of Chicago. 

 Although there are straggling occurrences in the north, the 

 northern limits of abundance are probably Vermilion County 

 in the east and Pike County in the west. This species, as 

 represented in Illinois, might possibly be better regarded as 

 R. ostryifolius Rydberg; it has, however, been most often 

 classified under the name used here. 



RUBUS FRONDOSUS Bigelow 

 Leafy-Flowered Blackberry 



The Leafy-Flowered Blackberry, fig. 25, is a shrub with erect 

 young stems and with old canes that usually recurve strongly 

 but do not root at the tip. The stems are terete or nearly so, 

 generally 3 to 6 feet long, and bear few prickles, most of which 

 are somewhat flattened at the base, and short and straight or 

 only partly recurved. Sometimes the upper parts of new canes 

 have wide, shallow channels. Most leaves on new canes are 

 5-foliate, and the terminal leaflet is broadly ovate, abruptly 

 short-acuminate at the apex, and rounded or cordate at the 

 base. The leaf surface is sparingly short-pubescent above and 

 densely so beneath, and the margins are doubly serrate with 

 ovate teeth. Most leaves on the old canes are 3-foliate and 

 doubly serrate with ovate teeth, and the terminal leaflet is 

 rhombic-oval or obovate, about 1 14 to 2 inches long, acute at 

 the apex, and generally wedge shaped at the base. 



The inflorescence is a very short raceme, generally of fewer 

 than 10 flowers, which open about the first of June. The ovate 

 sepals, which have abrupt short tips, become strongly reflexed 

 at fruiting time. The flower pedicels are ascending, densely 

 pubescent, and 14 to ]/z inch long. The black, glabrous fruit, 

 which begins to ripen in July, is globose or slightly elongated, 

 juicy, tart, and edible. 



DiSTRiBUTiox. — The Leafy-Flowered Blackberry appears to 



