508 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



troublesome in fields for several years in the north and persists for a long time 

 in gardens. A common native of the north. 



Rubus occidentalls L. Black Raspberry, or Black-cap Raspberry 



Stems biennial, glaucus, recurved, beset with hooked prickles ; rooting at the 

 tip; leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, or rarely 5-foliolate; leaflets ovate, coarsely 

 doubly serrate, whitish underneath ; flowers corymbose clusters ; petals shorter ! 

 than the sepals; fruit usually purplish-black, occasionally white. 



Distribution. Quebec to Georgia, to Missouri, to Minn. Like the preced- 

 ing species, often troublesome in fields and gardens. 



Rubus villosus Ait. High Bush Blackberry 



Shrubs 1-6 feet high, upright or reclining, armed with stout recurved 

 prickles, branchlets and lower surface of leaves glandular; leaflets 3-5, ovate, 

 pointed, terminal one stalked ; flowers in corymbose clusters ; petals white ; fruit 

 not separating from the juicy receptacle, blackish. 



Distribution. From Nova Scotia to Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, to Minn. 

 Troublesome like the black-cap Raspberry. 



Injurious properties. No species of the genus Rubus is known to be poison- 

 ous, but the bristles and spines on various species frequently inflict injuries 

 Numerous cases of inflammation, and later pus formation, are reported from 

 the prickles found on the common red raspberry. This is especially true of 

 the larger prickle of the black raspberry and the dewberry. The bark of the 

 blackberry contains villosin. The leaves are said to cause an irritation of the 

 skin of berry pickers or others who walk among the bushes. 





Fig. 269. Common Blackberry (Rubus villosus). 

 The common blackberry produces prickles which act in- 

 juriously in a mechanical way. (Ada Hayden). 



