Description

This is the plant that composes much of the trailside bramble in the Bay Area and throughout the western US. It grows in an expanding mound of trailing branches as far as it can find water. The leaves are deeply lobed and dark green on top, lighter on the bottom. The flower is bright white and leads (on female plants) to red or purple edible berries. Western blackberry will set more fruit with regular water, but is quite accepting of low water conditions. Just provide a shady site if you would prefer to keep it dry. The thorns on the branches are more like bristles than the stout spikes of non-native blackberries.